Room for Improvement
by Sakutada
Summary: What would happen if the Naruto series took place present-day?   Naruto's dealing with the same battles as a normal preteen. What happens when he vows to win Sakura's heart, come on top of Sasuke, and prove himself to everyone!  Can he do it all?
1. Chapter 1

_Naruto's in Junior High, so he's 12/13__**. I don't own Naruto.**__ (please give me ideas for what Kakashi should teach.) _

Sakura tucked the strains of hair that hung in her face behind her ears. She dreamily watched Sasuke stalk by, glaring angrily at everything in his path. Sakura read her watch; 8:30. The locker bell was going to ring in precisely 4 minutes. Ino stood next to her pink-haired best friend and watched Sasuke with greedy eyes. Both of the girls eyes lid slid down into a glare when they saw-

"Naruto," Ino groaned. He walked past, clutching his backpack grumpily, pouting, and slouching as if he didn't want anyone to know he was walking past. "Ick. I hate that kid."

"Don't complain," Sakura protested. "I'm in homeroom with him. He's a totally pain in the neck… to everyone in the class; even the teacher!" Sakura repositioned the straps of her backpack and stormed in the opposite direction of him.

"I am so sorry." Ino comforted, patting her friend's back. Sakura and Ino started bursting out laughing, causing heads to turn. Sakura drew a quarter from her khaki pocket, and shoved it into the slot of the snack machine. She punched in the code for a chip bag.

"Locker bell in two minutes," Sakura warned her friend.

"Oh!" Ino jumped, spun around, and headed for the 300 wing. Sakura shook her head, and headed for the 400 wing, where her locker waited for her to open it.

"Don't sit here!" a kid protested at the breakfast table. Naruto had a hard time finding a peaceful non-bullying spot in the cafeteria.

"Yeah," he exclaimed. "Who wants to sit next to you, anyway?" he marched off, carrying his plastic tray containing a muffin. "Stupid kid." He mumbled to himself. He plopped down on the end of the closest table of the window. A tree waved through with droopy branches. He stared at that tree, as he picked up his dry muffin. Before he took a bite, he looked at it, and threw it on the ground. He got up, and left his tray there.

The hollow bell called out through the school, announcing locker bell. A mass of kids got up from their table and headed for their locker. Naruto didn't use his locker. He hadn't even seen it. When his last hour teacher assigned it to him, he hadn't even looked at the location of the locker. If you asked him was his combination was he'd have no clue.

He slowly walked towards his first hour class, hanging his head low. Not that he was sad, he just didn't have a reason to raise his head. Walking to class was a struggle for him; because kids would bump into him with their shoulders, and he'd just let himself be pushed around. 10 minutes later, a second bell rang and that commenced the starting of first hour. No biggie… Naruto had enough detentions as it was.

When he had reached class, the tardy bell had rung. His teacher, Mr. Umino, gave him yet another detention. No biggie… He set himself down in his assigned desk, unzipped is backpack, and started on his bell ringer. Homeroom was Social Studies. History…

Sakura had finished before Naruto even started. She had replaced her bell ringer with a book.

After class, Mr. Umino had called Naruto to his desk. While everyone was getting ahead start getting to their class, Naruto was being held back.

"What did I do?" he asked slowly and dreadfully. Iruka shook his head.

"You did nothing wrong, Naruto." Iruka said. Naruto glanced behind his teacher. Looking his teacher in the eyes for him was like looking directly into the sun. "I just want to recommend something." Naruto huffed.

"I don't need special help if this is what this is about." Naruto frowned.

"No, Naruto." Iruka said. "I'm recommending maybe… a tutor… or a consular?"

"What kind of consular?" Naruto asked a little fast. His defense system was charging up really quickly.

"Maybe a… academic consular," he said. "Unless you want guidance consular, which wouldn't be a bad idea?" Naruto looked down. Why did all his teachers say stuff like that? Sure, he didn't have a good family life, but that didn't seem like a big deal to him.

"And maybe if you got an academic consular, it could be a student your age." Iruka suggested, shrugging. Naruto blew a disapproving huff air out of his nose.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "I'll think about it." He lugged his backpack on his back, and walked out the classroom. Iruka shook his head, and frowned.

'That boy…" he thought.

"Naruto!" his gym teacher, Ms. Mitarashi exclaimed. "You're not dressed-out and you're late for class!" Her purple hair was tied up in a pony-tail and she was carrying a clip-board around, grading. One of Naruto's enemies… grades. "And…?"

"And what?" Naruto asked grumpily.

"Your excuse?"

"Mr. Umino held me back after class."

"Probably because you were misbehaving."

"He was… informing me with… academically important matters." Naruto said, shrugging at the complicated words, or at least for him. She slashed her page and walked to the next kid in order of roll-call. Behind him, was Shikamaru Nara.

"Nara, Shikamaru." Anko murmured, grading him. When she walked off, Naruto heard him saying.

"Such a drag…" Naruto snickered, and popped a stick of gum in his mouth. Then he decided he wasn't going down alone if Anko caught him.

"Hey…" Naruto shook the tiny green box that contained a few gritty sticks of gum left. "Want some?" Shikamaru glared at the box.

"No thanks, Naruto." He groaned, pushing the box away.

"You're missin' out." Naruto pleaded.

"On what?" Shikamaru shot back. "If I'm missing out on something so great why offer it to me?" Naruto shrugged. In front of him was Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto chewed swiftly on the gum, and spat I out into Sasuke's hair. He saw Sasuke stiffen and slowly, turning around to face him. His eyes were closed ,annoyed, and slowly reach up to string out the piece of gum.

Naruto burst out laughing, causing everyone in the gym to turn and face him. He clutched his stomach, his eyes were watering, and his knees were bent. Sasuke pulled the multicolored clump out and let it drop to the floor.

"Uzumaki…" he whispered menacingly. He sucked in his stomach and blew up his lungs. Naruto opened one eye to see if was about to use Fire style on him. When Sasuke stood there doing nothing he stopped laughing and straightened up.

"Uchiha…" Naruto taunted. He put his hands on is hips and shook his butt. Shikamaru backed up. Anko picked up Naurto's wrist, held it high, and grabbed Sasuke's wrist.

"My office." She whispered. "Now!" Everyone in the gym was silent as everyone's heads followed their bodies. Anko's heavy foot steps pounded the ground. Sasuke was darkly glaring at everyone and Naruto was darkly glaring at Sasuke. When they arrived in the tiny, window-walled office, Naruto and Sasuke were engulfed with the smell of deodorant and cardboard smelling walls. Naruto's eye watered.

"What is up with you two?" she asked staring up at them. She was sitting in her desk.

"Well…" Naruto was brewing up an excuse in his head.

"First on Monday it was ice down his shirt. The next day, he decides to take revenge and burn a hole in you shorts where I don't want to talk about. Then today?" Anko watched how their expressions had changed from discomfort to laughter when she would bring up their prank of the day. "We can't do this…" she continued. She stood up and started writing a referral for Naruto. "How many does that make today?"

"Two." He grumbled. Sasuke smirked at the yellow paper. Naruto shifted his eyes lowly at Sasuke. Anko handed him the paper.

"Try better tomorrow you two." Anko pleaded. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and Naruto wanted to shove the detention in the trash bin. The three exited the office. Everyone was, unsurprisingly, talking. They had formed little groups. Naruto watched Sakura as she quickly talked to Ino. Anko walked up to the front of the gym.

"Okay, guys, lets do some stretches!"

After 3rd and 4th hour Naruto found himself eating outside on a picnic bench, eating out of his orange lunch pack. He chewed furiously on his lettuce and ham sandwich. He had successfully got only one more detention in 4th hour Science. He watched as the line for hamburgers got longer and longer. They couldn't be that good, could they?

He stood up, placed the sandwich in a plastic baggie and attempted to get in line. Even though he was in the back, he saw people turning their heads from time to time. Why couldn't they just leave him alone when he did something like them? When he finally got his hands on a plastic tray with French fries and a flat looking hamburger, he sat at his breakfast spot.

He sneakily took out his green I-pod decorated with a squinty-eyed, pink-cheeked, frog. He smiled gratefully as he lightly placed the green headphones, that he had painted himself, and turned on his favorite play list on. As the song blasted through his ears, Sakura and Ino were sitting behind him staring at him with envy.

"How does he get the nerve to do that?" Sakura asked Ino in a normal volume voice, knowing Naruto wouldn't hear her. "Is he trying to get himself in trouble?" Ino glared harder.

"How did he get green headphones?" she asked. "I want green headphones…" Sakura slapped the back of Ino's head.

"Seriously…"

Naruto's 5th hour was his elective; art. He didn't like anything on the list they had received at the end of last year, so he randomly checked off 3 things. He was stuck in art… People who could paint swiftly, people who could draw a character without looking at them, people who could draw decent stick-figures. Naruto had to concentrate on their proportion to where these kids could draw one faster that he could start off with the body.

He sniffed in concentration… focusing on a beautiful straight line. Kids watched how he didn't even hold the pencil correctly. Some snickered at his white-knuckled hands squeezing a fist around the pencil. The head was circle. He wanted a nice, round, even circle, not a wobbly, curved-in one. Sakura, being in the same class as him, deiced to help him… just a little bit.

"Hey," Sakura said behind him. "Naruto, want some… tips?"

"Tips?" Naruto asked slowly. "On what?

"On… a couple things!" she said. "Want to learn how to correctly hold a pencil when you're drawing?" Naruto looked at his sweaty fist and nodded. She picked up a pencil and weaved her fingers around it. "Like so!" Naruto dropped his pencil.

"Like…" Naruto murmured to himself, trying to copy Sakura. He realized Sakura had a presences about her no else did! He didn't feel like inside she was judging him. He got an awkward grip on the pencil and held it up. "Like this?"

"Close enough." Sakura said. "Okay… and when you draw a stick person… don't think about it so hard, okay?" She got up.

"Okay." Naruto nodded. He added this moment to his list on why to like Sakura. She walked away to her painting again. He sighed and tried what she had advised, and now it was a lot easier.

6th hour pasted quickly and 7th hour arrived. Math… That one past surprisingly fast too. His math teacher made everything make sense. The numbers weren't numbers… they were patterns… that made sense. That explained multiplying, they're just patterns! Eventually, a student announced 1 minute until the bell. Everyone mounted their backpacks, heard the bell, and swung their bag over their shoulders and headed out.

The bus wasn't cool but it wasn't hot and Naruto got a seat all to himself at the front of the bus. He played games on his phone, texted people, and prank called kids he knew on the bus. The apartment building that half the kids on the bus lived in was one of the last stops. He recognized Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru, and Ino. Only two people were left on the bus after their stop; Sasuke and Neji Hyuga.

When Naruto got off the bus, he watched the door slowly creak closed, and he waved teasingly at Sasuke through the window, who didn't even glance down. The dirt from the road, kicked up into his face, but he deiced to follow the bus anyway. Where did Sasuke live?

He ran after the bus that looked hazy from the sun. He tumbled over a couple times, but got up in curiosity. When the bus stopped, he hid behind a tree, and glanced to see who was coming off. It was Neji. Naruto passed up Neji to follow the bus again. He huffed and started slowing down after a mile or so and he started trotting. The bus turned, and Naruto was on his way down a road that had the view of the ocean.

The sun was reflecting off the water, making Naruto squint after the bus. After another two miles he lost the bus. He picked up a rock off the ground and threw it angrily. Then he sat on the side of the road, took out his unfinished lunch, and started eating it. He faced the sea, thinking about Iruka's offer.

Did he really need a consular? Or was everyone just too paranoid, but what about? Paranoid that maybe one day he'd turn on the wrong path? No… it was more than that… something was strange when people talked to him. Like they were afraid to say the wrong thing or he was a monster. He wasn't a monster… was he? He was about to eat the last bite of his sandwich when he saw a lonely ant. He sighed and broke off a piece for it. See… he wasn't a monster.

He lied down in the grass, placing his hands behind his head.

'I'm not a monster…' he thought. 'I'm just…'

"What am I?" He asked himself. "Am I different?" He picked another rock and threw it in the water. _Thonk_… The water rippled towards the sea. He got up and headed home. When he opened the door to his apartment he found it trashed. It was trashed before he left, but not like this. Toilet paper… paint… eggs… someone had pranked him. It wasn't Sasuke he wasn't even home yet from what Naruto knew. Couldn't be Sakura… wouldn't be Sakura. Ino… Shikamaru… Choji? Nah…

"Ah… well." He sighed and started picking up egg shells. "What a life I have… everyone wants this one." He deiced the T.V. could help have something to listen to. When nothing was on, he hooked up his I-home with his I-pod and finished the playlist he hadn't finished at lunch… When the egg shells had been picked up, he noticed blue paw prints.

_ Who could it be…? Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Never mind what I said about Kakashi! __**I don' town Naruto!**_

"Nothing with take us apart!" the female actress exclaimed, as Sakura munched on popcorn. She had turned off the lights in her room so she could watch her soap opera dramatically. She also liked to do it in secret. If her parents accidently slipped it to Ino's parents that she was watching soap operas, she'd never hear the end of it from Ino. Ino watched Teen Nick and stupid teenager dramas.

Why not grow up a little bit and watch adult soap operas, though sometimes she laughed so hard at how dramatic it was, her side would hurt the next day. Though she didn't watch it for entertainment, she did listen to the storyline. No, she watched it to get helpful mature hints on how to talk to Sasuke. The two actors were full out kissing when Sakura's phone went off.

It was a text from Ino.

"Sup?" it read. Ino was bored, Sakura could tell.

"Doin' hw, u?" Sakura's hands were sweating. She wasn't all that great at lying. Ino's reply came back.

"Watchin an awesome episode of Degrassi! _" Sakura slumped over. Just the example of what she hated. Luckily, the soap opera was going to a commercial break.

"Cool." Sakura didn't feeling like talking to Ino at the time, but she didn't want her to think anything was up.

"Havin a party this weekend. Wanna come?" She stared at the phone. One thing after the next. Of course she wanted to go, but how to convince her parents. They weren't fond of them.

"When is it?"

"Fri. 7:30 at my place." Sakura sighed. The last time she went she was intimidated by all of other Ino's friends. They didn't make fun of her when Ino was around, Ino was cooler than them and they knew it. She wore better clothes and had more money. Sakura, of course, didn't care about all that stuff; her and Ino had been best buds since 1st grade.

Now Ino wore Aeropostale jackets and shirts, American Eagle pants, and All-Star converse. Everything Sakura wanted to wear. Her hair-style was also new and cool. While Sakura put her hair in a pony-tail at times, Ino had a thin layer of bangs hanging in her face, and naturally beautiful blonde hair. How could plain, large-foreheaded, nerdy, t-shirt-denim-shorts-wearing, Sakura compete with someone like that? Luckily, Ino was her friend and she didn't need to compete, like all her other so called "friends…".

"I'll ask my parents" Sakura responded.

"Ugg" Ino texted back. Sakura wanted to throw her $20 Verizon cosmos at the wall, from Ino's text from her zebra-cased i-phone. Ino need to take a chill-pill!

Naruto was channel surfing, slumped on the couch, squinting at the T.V. Nothing good was ever on. Tonight, he wasn't looking for a decent movie or show, he was thinking. He was thinking about how people acted around him; especially adults. He was thinking about Iruka's offer. He was thinking about Sakura.

Sakura's name explained all of her. Cherry blossom… she was so sweet and nice and pretty… like a cherry blossom. That's what Naruto thought sincerely. That's when his new mission clicked in gear. Win the beautiful heart of Sakura Haruno. He sighed. At least that's one reason to go to school, but that was IT! No-other-reason. Naruto was sure of it.

School was a prison for little kids up until young adult hood. 'Or longer,' Naruto thought painfully. Getting held back wasn't his mission. He had miraculously passed every year of summer school. Thinking of being held-back, brought him back to the thought of grades. If he looked like fool in front of everyone with horrible grades, he'd look like a fool in front of Sakura. He vowed to try his best; no promises.

He then fell into a deep sleep, with the T.V. remote at hand, and a waterfall of drool. He found himself there the next morning, sleeping in a little damp puddle under his face. He rubbed dry drool off his face as he walked to his room to turn off his alarm clock. With wide-eyes, he read the clock; 8:30! Great way to start off impressing Sakura! Getting a tardy detention and ,if he counted right, that lead up to a Saturday school detention.

He cooked himself a burnt, crisp egg as he ran around the house picking up dirty uniform articles he forgot to wash. He ran out the door, with his backpack hitched to one of his arms. Locker bell was gonna ring in 5 minutes, and his pants were inside-out.

The tardy bell had rung 15 minutes after Naruto arrived to his homeroom class. He tried to walk into the classroom, quietly without Iruka noticing. Sakura was eyeing him annoyed, he noticed. She was reading Eclipse! Naruto held back his tongue rolling out in disgust. He sat at his desk as softly as he could make himself, and tried to zip his backpack slowly to start the bell ringer. Mr. Umino noticed, and Naruto knew it.

What a great way to start making Sakura notice him for the better.

"Naruto," Mr. Umino said, looking at the computer. Hopefully Naruto wouldn't accidently see his grades on the computer.

"Why were you late today, Naruto?" Naruto huffed. Excuse… or the truth?

"My alarm didn't go off." Excuse.

"You know this is the detention that automatically gets you a ticket to Saturday school." He said, writing the detention. Naruto felt every eye, that he thought belonged on their worksheet, was drilling into his back. Now everyone would know he finally got his first Saturday of the year.

"Yes, sir," he grumbled. Iruka handed him the detention.

"Did you think about what I said yesterday?" Naruto nodded, staring at the detention.

"Yeah, I'll give it a go," Iruka nodded.

"I'll give you a pass to go to the Consular's Office before 2nd hour, okay?" Naruto spun around and nodded. He slumped in his seat and took out a book he always pretended he was reading. Sakura noticed it was upside-down.

After class, Iruka gave Naruto a sticky-note with his signature on it, approving him to go to the consular's office before 2nd hour. He didn't even know who the consular was. Were they a male or female? Did it matter, he was about to go meet them anyway. He held his head low, as a habit.

When he reached the door that was marked Consular's Office he slowly pushed the door open.

Sakura was doing stretches from behind a couple rows of Sasuke. Sasuke did everything without enthusiasm. 'Because he's too cool for this baby stuff. He can use nin-jutsu better than some of the teachers,' Sakura thought. She couldn't help but smile at the thought that she knew she was right.

Naruto was sitting in a noisy wheeled chair, spinning as the consular was sitting at a desk in front of him. , Naruto learned, was the consular.

"Ah, yes… Naruto, is it?" she asked. She wore a red t-shirt, jeans, and small, thin reading glasses that looked stylish hanging on her nose. Naruto nodded.

"Mr. Umino has talked to me about you several times."

"He has?" Naruto asked nervously. He played with his collar. It was sweltering in there to Naruto. "What did he say?"

"Nothing bad," she said, doing stuff on her computer as she talked. "Well, not too bad. I've heard of your famous rivalry with Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto wasn't liking this.

"How long do I have to stay in here?" He asked. 'Note to self,' he thought. 'NEVER go to the consular's office again.'

"As long as you'd like." She said. "Well, actually, I want to talk to you about something." Naruto gulped. "Mr. Umino was talking to me about a different consular he'd thought be better for you." Naruto wasn't sure to be relieved or even more concerned.

"He's professionally train for hard cases, well, I'd call you a hard case." Naruto huffed. "Please don't be offended! I mean, you need to talk to someone who has more experience then me and knows what you're going through. I mean, family life and I'm assuming you don't have as many friends as you'd like." Naruto looked down. She wasn't being mean, just the facts; but personally facts.

"How do you know all this?" He asked suddenly looking up. Her eyes were harder to look into that Iruka's. They were an unnatural red. 'Contacts' he thought. He instantly looked down.

"I can see it all over your face." She said. Naruto didn't think she was saying all of the truth.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "So, who is this person?"

"His name is Mr. Hatake," she said. "He's really good, and I know him personally, as a friend." One point down for confidence. He didn't want to know any of her friends.

"Is he academic?" Naruto asked.

"Mr. Hatake?"

"Yeah," Naruto thought, 'Duh.'

"Hmm… that's not what he's specialized in. I was talking more of a guidance consular." Naruto wanted to get up and leave, but then the curiosity of this guy would be eating at him for the rest of the week.

"Can I have a kid teach me academic stuff?" He asked.

"Oh, sure!" she said. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Nah," Naruto said. His head and every cell in his body was screaming 'Sakura! SA-KU-RA!' He shook his head.

"Well, then, Naruto," she said, looking directly at him. "I'll assign you a student and see when Mr. Hatake can see you, okay?" Naruto nodded, got up, and left for the gym.

At lunch, he ate in his lunch bag, not the cafeteria food again. He was thinking about the consular thing again, and he didn't have a good feeling about it. It felt right, but some inside force was telling him it was wrong. It twisted his stomach, and made him want to throw up.

"Hey!" A kid called out. Naruto looked up, in curiosity. He wished he wouldn't have. He jerked his head back down, and munched nervously. A group of kids were coming towards him. Mean kids…

"I said 'Hey!'," the kid spat in his face. Naruto turned his face away from him. His name was Dean, and Naruto and him were known to get into fights. "Whatcha eating?' He dug into Naruto's bag.

"A bag of chips that are smarter than you," he murmured. Dean stopped and looked at him.

"What did you say, idiot?" he hissed. Naruto felt like his spit was acid on his skin. Naruto jumped down from the bench and tried to size him up. They stared at each other in silence getting closer to each other by the second. Naruto was standing higher and higher on his toes, and Dean was leaning lower and lower on his knees.

"Get him, Dean!" one kid shouted from the group. A few other guys laughed. Naruto backed off, and Dean pushed Naruto hard against a picnic table behind him. People were coming around to watch the show, and no one was choosing sides. No one liked Dean, no one liked Naruto. Naruto was keeping his balance by leaning against the table and pushed off to tackle him.

Dean grabbed him by the backpack, and swung him around. He went spinning towards the grass and felt hard on his back. He felt pain in his head and back. He arched his back in pain, and wiped his nose; blood. Naruto supported himself on his elbows and stared at Dean with hatred.

"Stop!" Ino had stepped in front of him with her arms spread open like a shield. "Dean, you jerk, fight a hippo your own size." Naruto couldn't help but smile at that fact that he was saved, and it wasn't Sakura who had saved him. If a girl had to save him from Dean, then he was a complete wimp. Dean stepped back and didn't move.

"What's the matter, Ino," he said. "You use to be a lot more fun than you are now." Naruto couldn't recall Ino ever bullying anyone, but every one knew he liked her.

"Yeah, look up the word 'fun' in the dictionary, if you know how to spell it," A few laughs sailed through the air. Dean shrugged and started heading backwards.

"Whatever," he said, and motioned his group to follow him. Ino shook her head, and helped Naruto up. Sakura came running for Ino.

"Ugg, you look horrible," Ino complained. Naruto wiped his nose again. "Next time, defend yourself. He's stupid!" Ino held out her hand to Sakura and mouthed "Tissue." Sakura took one out of her pocket and handed Ino the hanky.

Naruto took it and held pressure.

"Thanks," he said, with a stopped up sounding voice. Sakura giggled and he smiled.

"Anyway, we gotta go," Ino said, grabbing Sakura's hand and pushing through the crowd. Sakura waved good-bye; she was feeling sorry for him.

"That was nice, Ino," Sakura said, holding her hips. "And you said you hated him, remember?"

"I do!" she argued. "But Dean was being retarded." Sakura laughed.

"When isn't he ever?" They laughed.

The day pasted painfully slow, unlike yesterday. When he finally got home, he followed the bus again, and while doing that, did some more thinking. That prank that had happened yesterday wasn't cool. Whoever did it must really hate Naruto. Then he thought; Dean! But that didn't explain the paw-prints. It instantly left his mind when, he felt on his face in exhaustion. 5 miles was hard to run. How far away did Sasuke Uchiha live?

That night, he did his Social Studies homework. That, besides art, was the only class Sakura was in with him. He didn't really know anything on the worksheet, but he gave it a go. He finally gave up when the words started becoming blurry.

He made himself instant ramen in the microwave oven, ate his dinner, and went to bed. He needed rest, and homework took a lot out of him.

_Can't wait 'till the next chapter; please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_I didn't edit it very well, because I tried to get i ton as quickly as possible! __**I DON'T OWN NARUTO! **_

Friday finally arrived, and Sakura was squirming in her seat. Her parents had reluctantly agreed to let Sakura go to Ino's party. She had invited all her so-called friends, and one of them Sakura liked. Her name was Tenten, and she was coming! She had invited Sasuke and Kiba Inuzuka, as the two boys her parents allowed.

Naruto was looking at Sakura instead of his book. He noticed how she couldn't stop moving in her chair. He didn't ask. He assumed it had something to do with Sasuke or she had to go the bathroom. Naruto guessed Sasuke. His thoughts were interrupted by the intercom going off.

"Can you have Naruto Uzumaki come to Student Services?" a lady asked politely through the speaker.

"Yes, ma'am," Iruka called back. She thanked him, and Naruto heard the clacking of the phone being set down. He stood up, and headed out the door. He placed his hands in his pockets, and thought of why he was being sent to Student Services. He hadn't heard anything about "Mr. Hatake," since the meeting on Tuesday. Hopefully, his curiosity was about to be cut into oblivion.

He took a deep breath, and grabbed the doorknob. He swung it open, and marched in, but collided with someone. Whoever it was didn't fall over; but Naruto did. He fell on his butt and looked up to start shouting angrily at the person. He stopped himself quickly enough; it wasn't a student, or teacher he recognized.

This man had silver over grown hair, and loose bangs hanging over his left eye. (Which Naruto found a little feminine, but pushed aside the thought quickly.) He wore a sleeveless jacket that he had zipped up to where it covered the bottom part of his face. Naruto couldn't help but find him a little strange; seeing only one eye from his whole face.

He saw a tan shirt poking out of the jacket. He wore torn up jeans and black All-Star converse. This guy had a laid back feeling to him, and Naruto felt really stupid staring up at him from the ground.

"You must be Naruto," he said, and held out a hand. He helped him up, and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "That's me."

"I'm Mr. Hatake," he said awkwardly. "But I'd rather Kakashi." Naruto smiled. He was liking this guy. "Where's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke?" Naruto held his voice lower than his head had screamed. What the heck did he mean Sasuke?

"Yeah," he said, looking around. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Um…" Naruto looked to the side. So, the teacher's decided to hit two birds with one stone. He was helping him and Sasuke. 'Eww.' Naruto thought.

"Well," he sighed. "Guess we can go to the classroom without him." Naruto followed him to wherever the classroom was. On the way, they passed the gym, where he was supposed to go for second period; with Sasuke. On queue, the bell for second hour rung. Naruto smashed his hand into his palm. They weren't going to miss Sasuke. Or he'd at least be called to whatever room they were going to.

They arrived in a room with a half a wall substituted for a window. It had a couple tables pushed together, and a desk.

"This isn't my classroom, of course," Kakashi said. "I don't teach here. This is Kurenai's classroom." Naruto gave him a confused stare. "Ms. Yuhi,"

"Oh!" Naruto said. His eyebrows had jumped with him. Kakashi pressed the intercom button to call the office.

"Yes?" a lady called questioningly on the other end.

"Uh, this is Mr. Hatake in Ms. Yuhi's room," he answered. "Can you see if Sasuke Uchiha can come to room 204?" Naruto sat down slowly.

"Yes, sir," the lady said, the clack ended the call. Kakashi sat behind the desk, and sighed. He pulled out a book, and Naruto burst out laughing; he couldn't help it. It had a man chasing a woman, but the woman was smiling. The title was-

"Make-out Paradise!" Naruto burst out. He shook with laughter, and Kakashi didn't look off his book. He just kept reading. Naruto stopped laughing when Sasuke came in. He looked annoyed. Kakashi put away his book, and introduced himself to Sasuke. Sasuke didn't say word the whole time. He sat down a cross from Naruto and glared at him.

"Okay," Kakashi sighed. "Let's get down to business." Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other and back at Kakashi. "Kurenai wanted me to see you on certain days, so it wasn't my idea. She said Mondays and Fridays. Monday, during 4th and 5th hour, and Fridays during 4th and 5th."

"Why those hours?" Sasuke asked.

"I dunno," Kakashi shrugged. "That's what Kurenai wants. But I do know if you don't show up each time you get a detention." Naruto stiffened. His vow popped in his head. No more goofy mess-ups. Sasuke shrugged.

"Alright, I want to know something about you guys," Kakashi said. "Likes, dislikes, and goals in life." Naruto groaned and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Let's know something about you first." Sasuke said, resting his head in his hands that lay on the table. He looked like an alligator ready to strike something in the water, so Naruto thought. Kakashi leaned against the teacher's desk.

"Hmmm," Kakashi looked at the ceiling. That was Naruto's move for Truth or Excuse. "I don't really have any likes or dislikes, and I come up empty handed when I think about my goals." Excuse. Naruto didn't find this very motivating.

"I like ramen," Naruto shot out. "And… I dislike ramen taking longer than 3 minutes to make." Sasuke groaned. "My goal…" he fell silent. How could he talk about what had been on his mind for the pass 2 days? 'Yeah, right,' Naruto thought. 'And in front of Sasuke? He'd laugh and spread rumors, and it's just like Mrs. Mitarashi was talking about the other day. We're rivals!' He had to think of an excuse.

"Umm… My goal is to become a football player!" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Kakashi nodded.

"You?" He looked at Sasuke.

"I don't like or dislike anyone or anything," Sasuke said. "My goal is to take revenge on a certain someone." He couldn't say in front of a guy ,who apparently worked for the school that he actually wanted to kill that certain someone. Naruto shook his head disapprovingly.

"How dark can ya get?" He asked him. "And imagine all the girls in the school like you."

"Shut up," Sasuke said annoyed. Kakashi watched them closely. He had to take notes on how they reacted to each other, but got a pretty clear idea from the last ten seconds. He took out a kunai and threw it in between them. It stuck in the table. Naruto shot back in his chair and almost toppled over, and Sasuke didn't move.

"W-What the heck?" Naruto shouted at him. Kakashi walked over to the table and pulled it up. It had left a dent in the table.

"I want to get my point across that we don't play in here, okay?" Naruto nodded, but Sasuke just glared. Naruto then didn't know what he thought of this guy. He carried around a pack of kunai?

"Tell your teacher's today in 5th and 4th that you'll be coming here on Mondays and Fridays, got it?" The same reaction as the last. Naruto got up, and left for gym. Sasuke stayed behind.

"I hate that kid," Sasuke said. Kakashi sat in a chair next to him.

"Would you like to talk now?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"About anything; I know you're the last person, besides Itachi Uchiha, to survive the massacre." Sasuke looked down. Kakashi couldn't tell f he looked hurt, angry, upset, or and of those in between.

"Yeah, I am," he said.

"Your whole family was wiped out," Kakashi continued. He was testing Sasuke, and seeing how he did under pressure. "Uncles, aunts, grandparents, friends, neighbors, mother… father." Sasuke got up. He didn't yell, or cry. He just stared at Kakashi and left.

He sighed and took out his book.

That night, Sakura couldn't find the right thing to wear for the party! She finally wore high, boot-looking, converse Ino had let her borrowed a while ago, a ribbon looking headband, a pink shirt decorated with flowers, elbow length black jacket, and a jean skirt she found an appropriate length. If she was one thing, she was modest.

She headed out the door, and Ino's parents had offered to come pick her up. She was going to the party earlier than anyone else. Her parents waved her off, and she zoomed away to a party she hoped would be all the stress it was worth.

Ino's family had already set up a few snacks, and popular songs were playing outside in the back. Ino and Sakura hung out there until people started coming. The first ones to arrive were a large group of girls that equaled up to half of Ino's posse. Sakura went outside with the rest of them. She didn't talk, she only listened.

She was waiting for a special someone; Sasuke.

Kiba arrived with his dog partner, Akamaru. All the girls couldn't get their hands of him. Sakura couldn't help but think that's why he brought him, but then again Akamaru went everywhere with Kiba. Kiba tried talking to the girls, but they just cooed about Akamaru.

Then, Sasuke came in.

He wore a tan shirt, and unbuttoned plaid shirt. He had white jeans on and worn tennis shoes and a guitar pick on a necklace. Sakura was the first one who noticed, but was stunned so she didn't move. She could have kicked herself when one girl headed over to him, and the rest followed. Kiba looked at Sasuke and walked over to Sakura, cradling Akamaru in his arms.

"Some guy," he said. Sakura jumped.

"Oh," she said. "Uh, yeah." She leaned against the wall, and kept staring at him.

"I bet you he doesn't like anyone of them," he said. "Which reminds me, you're gonna laugh when I tell you this," he said. "I got into Naruto's apartment and pranked him the other night."

"Pranked him?" Sakura asked, looking at Kiba for the first time since the conversation.

"Yeah," he said. "Akamaru and I got bored one day and ruined his house." He looked at his dog. "It's not as funny when I say it like that, but-" He stopped when he saw Sakura lower her glare disapprovingly. "I didn't do it to be mean, I did it as a joke."

"Well, it isn't very funny," she said, looking back at Sasuke. The crowd had thinned around him. He was finally able to move.

"Aww," Kiba hit her in the arm. "I was just kidding with him. Don't tell me you like him."

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed. "I just… don't like how people treat him sometimes. Believe me, I don't have too big of a soft spot for him, but I know what it's like to be picked on."

"Well," Kiba sighed. "Me and Akamaru have some girls to talk to!"

"Arf!" Akamaru barked. Sakura rubbed his head quickly as Kiba walked by. Everyone eventually moved outside, and some girls danced to the music. Sakura kind of liked the music but her taste wasn't Tik Tok or Fireflies.

When everything was actually starting to get relaxing, Sasuke started heading towards Sakura. She wanted to look and act cool. So she looked out into the yard, pretending to think about… things. She also didn't want him to know her insides were bouncing up in down and flipping around for him. He sat in a white plastic chair next to her.

"Hey," he said. She looked at him like she didn't know he was there.

"Oh, hey." She smiled. They didn't talk for a while.

"Nice party?" Sakura said; or more like asking.

"Nah," Sasuke grunted. "I only came 'cause I have nothing better to do, except…" he stopped. Sakura wanted to comfort him, but how?

"Uh," was all she could get out. That's the best comforting she had ever seen in her life. Then Ino came.

Hey, Sasuke!" she waved and walked over. "How's the party?" she asked, pushing aside her hair. Sakura felt like a hobo compared to what Ino was wearing. He didn't say anything.

"Well, alright then!" she said, then the doorbell rang. Sakura shot a confused look at her friend. "That's funny," she said, looking at the backdoor. "Everyone's here." She headed for the house. Sasuke sighed.

"She's so annoying," he complained.

"Really?" Sakura asked, a little hopeful, but tried to sound hurt.

"Yeah," he said. Then a scream came from the house, followed by everyone of the girls screaming. Sakura thought of it as a chain reaction. Before she knew it, she was in Sasuke's lap in fear. He looked at her annoyed, and she toppled off. Ino ran out the door of her house, and someone was grabbing her wrist. Sakura's eyes widened and she felt her heart stop, and her chest felt heavy when she saw who had an iron hold on her best friend.

The ugly, mutant hippo, Dean was crashing the party.

_ A little fan thing tossed in there!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay… this one was hard to write. __**Please review! I don't own Naruto!**_

Sakura was watching from the ground helplessly. Everyone was quiet and the tension in the air was added with Ino's struggling grunts. Dean had a twisted smile on his face, as he was almost picking Ino off the ground from her wrist.

"Dean," she shrieked. "You jerk, let me go!" Sakura felt a weight on her chest. She hadn't ever felt anything like this. Was it anger? Or was it fear? Or was she upset?

Sasuke got up and stepped over Sakura. Everyone stepped back; a fight was about to happen, and everyone knew it. Sakura reached up for the arms of the chair Sasuke had just got out of, and stood up. Sasuke stepped forward. Someone whispered "Go, Sasuke."

"Hey," he said. "Put her down." Dean stared at him in complete awe. He wasn't expecting to see him here. Kiba let out a howl, which everyone took as "Let's get it started!"

"Or what," Dean asked, finally in the game. "You'll go get her parents?" Ino glared at him with tears building up, making her eyes glisten with hatred and horror. Sasuke lowered his eyes, and Dean let her go. She fell to the ground. Sakura couldn't help but think she was being dramatic and helpless.

"Bring it on, Spook Face," he said, and charged after Sasuke. When he punched, Sasuke dodged to the side, and kicked him in the back. Dean went tumbling for the grass and fell. He wiped his nose as he got up.

"You're not as good as I would have expected," Sasuke admitted. Dean growled and came after him again. Sasuke reached for his arm, twisted him around with force, and balanced with his foot on his back. Dean was leaning on his toes and Sasuke was keeping them perfectly balanced. Sasuke then shoved him farther than last time. Dean fell again, this time angrier than the last. His eyes had a few tears in them.

He walked slowly this time onto the patio. Sasuke and Dean circled each other, like dogs did while fighting. Sakura grasped her heart. Her heart was pumping and she forced all the pride for Sasuke into her eyes. Then her heart leapt, as Dean charged faster than Sakura thought possible for him. Sasuke wasn't expecting it either. Now Dean had him pinned to the wall with a kunai placed on his throat.

Dean's face was close to Sasuke, and he was staring at him with total hatred. Dean started laughing.

"If anyone moves," he warned. "I'll cut him." Sakura noticed Sasuke slowly making hand-signs. Sakura braced herself, and turned away. She knew what was about to happen.

"Fire style; fire ball jutsu!" He blew a huge fire ball out of his mouth. Girls screamed and Dean shouted in pain. Sakura was afraid to look at him. Was his face burned? She built up enough courage to look. He wasn't burning at all! He was shrieking like a little girl because his shirt was on fire. Sakura couldn't help but giggle to herself. Hadn't he ever heard of stop, drop, and roll?

He finally took off his shirt and he luckily had another shirt under it. It was easier to see all his fat now, but not as much if he didn't have this shirt on. He looked at his burning shirt, then at Sasuke through tears, and ran through the back gate. Everyone could hear him crying as he left.

Everything was silent, except for the empty song playing in the air. Ino got up and rushed to Sasuke. She was about to give him a hug when he moved away. He went inside and all the girls followed him, talking to each other loudly about Sasuke's bravery.

He opened the front door, looked back at everyone, and left. Kiba yelled to everyone.

"Come on," he encouraged. "There's still a party!" The girls walked back outside slowly, mumbling about how uncool it was of Sasuke leaving. Ino and Sakura were the only ones left back in the room. Sakura hugged her best friend, and she hugged back. For some reason they both laughed.

"Did- did-did," Ino couldn't get it out because of how hard she was laughing. She finally calmed down and grabbed Sakura's shoulder. "Did you… see Dean's… face?" Sakura nodded.

"Sasuke's so hot!" she exclaimed. They looked at each other.

"What do you think he's gonna say at school tomorrow?" Ino asked, tucking back a piece of stranded hair. Sakura looked at Ino with blank eyes.

"I don't know," she said slowly. They held hands and went outside.

Naruto was stargazing at the exact moment of the party. He was laying in front the apartment building; he was lying on his back with his hands behind his head. He was watching for shooting stars. He lay there a couple minutes until he heard footsteps a block away. He shot up and looked to the far side of the street and Sasuke was rounding the corner. Wasn't he supposed to be at Ino's party?

Naruto grunted. He probably thought he was too cool for that party. Naruto stood up and waited for Sasuke to come past. Sasuke passed in silence, and Naruto decided to just glare at him.

The weekend passed too fast and Naruto found himself in the same classroom with Sasuke and Kakashi on Monday. Naruto didn't feel like going there and telling his life story, and listen to Sasuke mumble under his breath for 2 hours. But that's not how it went…

"Okay, guys," Kakashi started. "Do you know any jutsu?" Naruto was caught off guard and shot his head up in surprise, and Sasuke's eyebrows went up.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I mean, I do a pretty cool ninjutsu I came up with myself." Sasuke sighed.

"I wouldn't get my hopes too high," Sasuke grumbled. "It's probably a horrible jutsu." Naruto scowled at him. What gave him the right to be so negative all the time? He got up from his chair and made a hand-sign.

"Heh, I'll show you," He said. A puff of smoke appeared around him as he shouted a transformation jutsu. He came out as curvy, blonde-haired, orange-bikini-wearing girl. He had decided to transform with something to cover him up because he didn't want a detention. He was serving a Saturday that week.

When the smoke dismissed and Naruto stopped the jutsu, he placed his hands behind his head confidently and looked at their reactions. Sasuke was now sitting up in his chair, looking at Naruto without an ounce of respect.

Kakashi on the other hand, his eye was wide open, and his head was leaning forward; probably for a closer look, so Naruto thought.

"Heheh," he laughed. "How about that?" Sasuke shook his head in disgust.

"How stupid can you get, Naruto?" He asked. Kakashi walked forward, out of the daze.

"Alright," he said. "Sasuke, I'd like to see you demonstrate a fire style jutsu. I've heard the Uchiha were famous for that kind of jutsu." Sasuke nodded.

"We'll have to go outside," He said with a devious smile. Naruto huffed, and crossed his arms. They went in the back part of the school, where there was a lot of area. Sasuke stared at it for a second, and sighed. He made various hand signs, faster then Naruto could, and jumped back puffing up air.

"Fire style; fire ball jutsu!" Sasuke was blowing a huge, flaming ball of fire out in the large area. Naruto watched in awe. He could even fell the heat from it. Everything there was hazy with heat, and Sasuke stopped. He smiled at Naruto, and Naruto took it as, "That's what I call a jutsu."

Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke. "That was pretty impressive, Sasuke." He admitted. Sasuke walked toward Naruto and smiled again. Naruto stuck his tongue out and scowled. Then Naruto looked at Kakashi.

"What kind of jutsu can you do?" he asked curiously. Kakashi shrugged.

"I can do some," he said. Naruto started heading for the classroom; but Kakashi stopped him. "We're staying out here, actually." Naruto nodded.

"What are we doing?"

"I want to see your tai-jutsu," He said. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances. "Okay, set up."

"What the heck does that mean?" Naruto asked loudly.

"When I say set up," he informed. "I mean stand in front of each other, like your ready to fight."

"Say what?" Naruto exclaimed. "We're not gonna be fighting, are we?" Kakashi stood there a second without responding.

"No," he said. "Just set up." Sasuke stood in front of Naruto. They looked at each other, and Naruto realized, he wanted to fight Sasuke. He wanted to see what real damage he could do. Then Naruto thought of the word formation. He remembered hearing on T.V. movies with ninja's in them that some had good and some had bad formation.

Then he thought, 'Does Sasuke want to fight me?' They looked at each other in intense silence.

"Okay," Kakashi said. "Now, I couldn't imagine Naruto having as good tai-jutsu as Sasuke, so-"

"What!" Naruto shouted.

"I'm just saying, Sasuke comes from a part of town that's pretty good with this kind of stuff." Kakashi said, correcting himself. "So, Naruto, I want you to attack Sasuke." This was a dream come true! A teacher telling him to attack his all time rival?

"But, Sasuke, you can defend yourself," Kakashi ended the perfect dream. Naruto's first thought in his head was in the next few seconds he'd find himself on the ground.

"Alright," Naruto mumbled. He cracked his fist, brought it back, and swung for it. But a jolt went through his body when Sasuke had caught his fist as Naruto had put it at full force. He tried to undercut with the other hand, but Sasuke caught that one too.

Then, Naruto resorted to his legs. He kicked with one leg, trying to knock him down. However, when Sasuke saw this, he grabbed Naruto by his hands with all the strength in his arms and flipped him to the side. Naruto found himself on his back, just like the vision in his mind.

Except, only this time, it hurt really bad. His spine was tingling with pain, and the back of his head with soar. He sat up, and rubbed his back gingerly.

"Ow…" He murmured slowly. Sasuke glared down at him with fury in his eyes. Naruto spat in the grass, lucky to see there wasn't any blood in the mixture. Kakashi helped him up, once more. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Okay," He said. "So, I'm not that great at tai-jutsu. Big deal." He leaned against the school and looked at Sasuke. "Does he get to do tai-jutsu?" Kakashi nodded.

"There's no way he's using me as a punching bag," Naruto said.

"I wasn't intending him on using tai-jutsu on you," Kakashi said. "I was going to let him do it on me." Sasuke looked at Kakashi like he was crazy.

"Hrmp," he grunted. They 'set up' and Sasuke took a crack at it.

Naruto wanted to close his eyes, because he knew he was going to be much better than him. However, he wanted to see what would happen. Sasuke hesitated at first.

"Come on," Kakashi encouraged. Sasuke used a set of attacks, some too fast for Naruto to see. And Kakashi was fast at dodging and deflecting. Naruto was starting to doubt this guy was only good at a few jutsu…

When the first bell rang, Naruto went to go tell his 5th hour teacher he was able to be excused. When he returned, he realized he felt like only 10 minutes had past.

"Okay," Kakashi resumed. "The main thing I wanted to teach you-"

"Teach?" Naruto interrupted again. "I thought this was… I thought you're a consular."

"I am," he said. "But I think I can do more with you two." Naruto couldn't help but think that sounded mysterious. Sasuke looked at Naruto harder than ever, like there was something he knew about him he didn't know.

"Are you a shinobi?" Naruto asked, trying to ignore Sasuke.

"Yes," Kakashi said.

"Then you do know jutsu!"

"Yes, but I'm not doing it here at school. I could get fired." He said. Naruto looked at his feet. Sasuke was still staring at him.

"Would you stop starring at me?" Naruto finally commanded. Sasuke looked away slowly.

"Getting back to what I was saying," Kakashi said. "I want to teach you guys how to control chakra."

"Chakra?" Naruto asked. "Isn't that, like, positive energy, or something?"

"No," Sasuke blurted out. "That's chi; Chakra is spiritual energy." Naruto twitched his nose.

"I don't think you have chakra or chi," Naruto said.

"Anyway," Kakashi resumed. "I just want to touch the basics." The room was silent for a while. "Come on," he said, and they followed him outside again.

"The first thing to understanding jutsu is chakra," Kakashi said. "You can't use jutsu with out chakra or physical energy." Naruto yawned. "And the key word for chakra is focus." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You guys aren't giving me much support here."

"Because I already know this stuff," Sasuke complained.

"Because this stuff is boring," Naruto complained. Kakashi sighed.

"We want a visual!" Naruto cheered. "Do a jutsu!"

"We won't tell anyone," was Sasuke's little encouragement.

"You know I could get fired for this," Kakashi informed.

"We know," the boys said together with a smile. Kakashi looked around, and couldn't think of a reason to not use one, little jutsu.

"Okay," he agreed. Naruto was on his toes, waiting for the action. What kind of jutsu was he going to use? Was anyone going to see? Did he want Kakashi to get fired? He didn't know any of the answers to those questions.

Kakashi grabbed his right wrist, and almost instantly, Naruto could hear a noise of birds! He covered his ears, not expecting the noise. Sasuke's face was stricken; he hadn't been ready for it either. Then a flash of light appeared in his hand. Naruto squinted to watch the jutsu.

Kakashi was holding a ball of lighting in his hand! Sasuke shielded his eyes with his hand. Then everything stopped. Naruto scratched the inside of his ear with one hand, and rubbed his eyes with another.

"That was loud," Sasuke hissed. "Someone could have heard that."

"You asked for a jutsu," Kakashi said, without guilt. "I showed you one that didn't physically hurt you guys." When Naruto was finished adjusting, his face slowly returned to a big, respectful, awe-filled smile. Then he laughed.

"My heart," he exclaimed. "It's pumping so fast!" Kakashi smiled back.

"I'm glad you liked it, Naruto." He said. Sasuke huffed.

"Can we get back to chakra now?" he asked impatiently. Sasuke was glared down by Naruto and Kakashi. He closed his eyes, and waited for the lesson to resume. Inside, he was enjoying hanging out with them. He hadn't been enjoying _anything _since his family had died. He wasn't going to show it, though.

_So… please give me your thoughts! I've had someone say it was uneventful and another person said she was mad at me because she wanted to know what happens really bad… so I need some input here! _


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm underlining this A/N because this chapter begins with a letter in italics. Also, I wanted to say Dean's name in Japanese would be pronounced Dan. But English wise, I'd be Deen. You can pronounce it anyway you want__**! I don't own Naruto!**_

_My dearest Naruto,_

_ I have to let you know how I feel for you. You are wonderful and very unique. Please understand why I'm keeping this anonymous; I'm not embarrassed of my love for you. But I'm too shy to tell you or anyone else. I just wanted to let you know I love you, and I'm thinking about you all the time._

_ Your Anonymous Lover,_

_ Blue-eyed and Misunderstood _

Naruto read the love letter over and over, trying to figure out if it was real or fake. It was in patient, lovely handwriting. He turned the loose leaf sheet of paper over. There was no clue who it was. He turned around, and looked at the few kids behind him in class.

Then he glanced in front. He then thought of the possibility that it could be a prank. He stuck it in his book bag to analyze it later.

It was Thursday, one of Naruto favorite days. That meant tomorrow was Friday, and Friday meant weekend. 3rd hour was a little boring, but he could get through English. Next was Science…

Science was normally uneventful. It was normally the hour he caught up with his sleeping. Science equaled nap-time for Naruto. Not today.

Today was Keep-an-eye-on-the-creepy-new-kid hour.

When Naruto had walked into class, he normally sat next to Choji, who would shake Naruto awake if the teacher was coming while Naruto was sleeping. Today it was Naruto, Choji, and a kid Naruto had never seen around school.

He looked as pale as white sand, red foreign hair, and spooky dark-rimmed eyes. He didn't talk when Naruto approached the group's table. He stared at Naruto, and kept his mouth in a tiny, judging line. He looked lonely, and unhappy. Naruto tried hard not to even look his way.

The Science teacher, Naruto could only blame this on his great luck, asked him to help their new exchange student.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked glumly. He played with the glass stirring rod.

"Gaara," He introduced. He was pointing to the gloomy kid; Naruto could have barfed in fear. He was going to have to help a kid that stared at everyone like he was thinking of a way to murder them! Naruto gulped, and forced a painful smile.

"Why me?" Naruto asked the teacher. "Don't you want someone nicer than me like… uh, Choji?" Choji almost jumped out of his chair in surprise.

"No," he teacher said firmly. "I think you two will get along nicely." Naruto nodded. Gaara was staring at him the whole time. He held his head low menacingly, and hadn't blinked at all. "He's from Suna City."

"Nice to meet you," Naruto greeted through chattering teeth. Then he sucked it up. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara didn't react. Naruto scratched his head nervously. "You're gonna really like this place."

"Hmph," he grunted. Naruto glared at him fiercely. Naruto didn't attempt going to sleep once. At lunch he abandoned Gaara. Unfortunately for Naruto, Gaara had found him in the bathroom.

"You're not a very good tour guide," he mocked. Naruto stepped back into a stall when he heard Gaara talk for the first time. His voice was gruff and different from any other kid he had heard. They stood there a few intense seconds until someone else entered the bathroom.

"Okay," Naruto resumed. "I need to go pee, so don't look!" Gaara left the bathroom. Naruto needed time to think. Instead of going to the urinals, he went in a stall and snapped the door securely shut. This kid was gong to give him nightmares. His voice and face were spooky. Like some kind beast or demon. Naruto rested his head on his hands stressfully.

This wasn't going to work out. He leaned back on the toilet, shut his eyes, and went to sleep. At first he thought it was his alarm clock, but what woke him up was the tardy bell. He hadn't heard the first and he was officially late for class because of sleeping on a toilet.

He rushed out of the bathroom, with one strap of his bag over his shoulder, and zoomed to art class.

On the bus, he peeked over the seats, looking for red headed kids. He jumped and slid down his seat when he saw red. Not orange, but red hair. He looked over his seat a little more cautiously and saw he had mistaken a red stocking cap for hair. He wiped off the fresh sweat from his forehead.

He dug in his backpack, and found the paper that he had found in his desk. It was defiantly girl handwriting. It was a love note that expressed feeling he didn't think anyone had for him. That moment of think was over when someone snatched the note of his hand from above.

"My Dearest," someone snickered from behind. "Naruto." It was a kid who got off in a few stops named Koroko; another one of Naruto's bullies. Bus Bully. "Who wrote this?" He asked.

"I don't know," Naruto said, trying to reach for it. Koroko balled it up and threw it at him.

"Probably some lame-o girl," he said. "Like that Sakura Haruno girl." Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Sakura is not lame," he said. Koroko laughed, and sat back down in his seat.

"Sure," Naruto felt Koroko kicked the back of his seat. Naruto jolted with each kick, uncrumpling the paper. He read for the last time, and held out the window. Should he let it go? Should he keep it just in case the secret admirer decided to show up and he'd have it as a memory? No, he clenched it hard. He made 4 holes in it with his fingernails, and watched it flutter out the window.

He heard Koroko snicker. Naruto rubbed his head, and waited for Koroko to get off the bus.

Sakura did her homework; listening to a C.D. she'd rather than the radio she pretended to like around Ino. It was a Latin C.D. her parents had gotten her from Mexico. It was great because it didn't detract her from homework. She couldn't understand it, so she didn't sit there and listen to the words.

Her phone went off, and rushed to see who it was. It was Ino.

"Hey," she said.

"Sakura," Ino said. "Can I come over for the night?"

"Like?"

"Like to sleepover." Sakura grasped the phone hard.

"What?" she exclaimed. "It's a school night! Maybe tomorrow; it's a Friday."

"My parents are going out tonight, man!"

"Gosh, Ino. Let me ask my parents."

"Okay!" Sakura placed the phone on the bed and ran for her parent's room. This was going to be like asking them if she could drive at her age. The answer, she was positive, was no. Surprisingly, they reluctantly agreed, since it was an emergency.

"My parents are okay with it," Sakura said slowly into the phone.

"Great!" Ino exclaimed. "See you in ten minutes!" And she hung up. Sakura sighed and picked up her pencil again.

At Naruto's apartment, he was cooking microwave popcorn, and filling water balloons in the sink. One of the good things about living in a 4 story apartment building was that people walked under it all the time. Naruto would sit at the window, munch on popcorn, wait for ill-fated people to walk under his window, and drop the balloon on their head. Sometimes, if they weren't directly under the window, he'd throw them at people.

It was funny it watch their reactions too. Some would get scared, some would get angry, and some people would look around to see who did it. Only a few people looked up for their first gaze. He'd be able to hide most of the time before they looked up. He'd close the window and laugh hardily.

This was one night where he needed to pick on someone else; the funny way. The first few people were hilarious. Most of the time, girls scream, and boys wouldn't act immediately. However, with Naruto's luck, he dropped a heavy, blue balloon on a boy's head.

That was regular. Except, when the boy looked up, he looked somehow familiar. Then Naruto screamed and hit his head on the window sill when he recognized the dark eyes, and red hair. Definitely the skin. He raced for the door and locked both locks. It was Gaara.

His eyes widened when he thought of what he might do at school. Then he remembered he wouldn't be in class with him the next day; he had class with Kakashi and Sasuke. Then another realizing thought came to him. Why was he afraid of Gaara? He hadn't hurt him or anything. Also, he was learning a few things from Kakashi. He could probably kick a kid his size like Gaara. Looks didn't mean anything.

Sakura had made a bed on the floor with blankets for Ino to sleep on. Was this going to be fun or painful? Sakura realized she'd find out, when the doorbell rang. That was either the ring to her paradise with her best friend, or doom of the night.

"Hi!" Ino greeted cheerily. She hugged Sakura abruptly. "Thank you for letting me stay here!"

"No problem," Sakura said.

"This going to be fun!" Ino said, and raced to Sakura's room. Sakura followed slowly.

"I finished my homework, and my favorite soap-" she grabbed her mouth quickly when she realized she was about to spill about her soap opera watching.

"You favorite what?" Ino asked innocently. She hadn't heard anything.

"My- er- favorite Degrassi show is coming on tonight," she lied, rubbing her elbow.

"Hmm," Ino nodded. "On what channel? I wish I could watch it Thursday's at my house."

'Great," Sakura thought. "Oh," she stammered. "I- um- I thought it was… coming on, on ABC Family."

"Degrassi doesn't come on that channel!" Ino exclaimed.

"I meant The Secret Life of an American Teenager," Sakura covered.

"You said your parents don't allow you to watch that"

"Shut up, Ino!" Sakura shouted, then covered her mouth; blushing.

"Well, okay Sakura," she snapped.

"I'm sorry, Ino," she apologized. "I just-" she was stopped when Sakura's mom stepped in the room, telling the girls not to stay up too late. This was going to be a disaster, and Sakura could have ripped up a pillow from the first two minutes Ino had stepped into the house.

Naruto stopped throwing water balloons, and decided to eat the rest of the popcorn in front of the T.V. He was ready to go to sleep when there was a knock at the door. The first thought that came into his head was 'Gaara.' He jumped off the couch, and tumbled to the floor. He rolled, and shouted," Coming!"

He ran to the sink, and armed a water balloon; ready to see Gaara. He held the water balloon, twisted the knob on the door, threw the door open, and threw as hard as he could out the door. He could have spanked himself when he saw the person at the door wasn't Gaara.

It was the apartment owner, Asuma Sarutobi. He was wet, and stood frozen, looking at Naruto blankly. Naruto watched him take out his cigarette, and brush off the dampened ashes and placed it in his pocket. Naruto stepped back, and started slowly closing the door; but Asuma stuck his foot in front of it.

"Naruto," he began. He had heard his speech a billion times on staying low, because he basically stayed there for free. "I got a complaint, from someone walking by, saying someone was throwing water balloons."

"I'm sorry," Naruto said, with out feeling. "I won't do it again." He added a big smile at the end, like the official seal of his promise. Asuma sighed.

"You always say that," he said. "This is your last warning." Naruto nodded, and resumed trying to close the door. Asuma left, and Naruto sat at the door pouting. He couldn't have any fun with supervision. He heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and he stood on his knees, and pressed his ear against the door.

They were light, polite footsteps. He backed away from the door, knowing there was nothing to worry about. He was heading for his bed, when he felt something stick him in his heel. He bent down to pick up a neatly folded letter. He opened it, turned it a couple to times to look for an address, and decided to check the writer's name.

It was Blue-eyed and Misunderstood.

_ So…? Who's sending Naruto love-letters? Sorry if my writings been a little off lately. I'm reading Pendragon series right now, and I tend to write a lot like the author who writes the books I'm reading at the time. And this chapter might have type-o's cause I didn't edit it too well. BTW, please PM me if you have an idea, and I might put it in the story! So far, I want to thank __**Ennalight **__for reviewing every chapter! I don't have to say this, but please review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_This chapter is a little different from the rest. It was a little upsetting to write… I don't like iffy stuff. (In my book) Anyway, all-round it's a good chapter__**. I don't own Naruto.**_

Naruto shifted in his chair nervously. He held the love letter folded in a tiny square in his hand. He would switch hands, not wanting to dampen it with his sweat. Kakashi and Naruto waited for Sasuke. Kakashi was leaning back in a chair, reading Make-out Paradise.

"Didn't you finish that book already?" Naruto asked impatiently. Kakashi didn't look up from his book.

"Yeah," he answered. "But it's really good, so I decided to read it again." Naruto chuckled and unfolded the letter and reread it, debating weather to show it to Kakashi or not.

_ Naruto,_

_ I don't know how many letters I'll be sending, but when I'm ready to show you who I am. I love you, Naruto Uzumaki! Please, go to the back of the apartment building on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and there be something waiting there. Please be patient, and I wish you the best until then._

_ Blue-eyed and Misunderstood_

Naruto closed his eyes tightly. He wasn't even sure if he should go the back of the apartment building. If this were all a big prank, someone could be waiting back there to beat him up. He gulped, and crumbled it in his pocket when Sasuke walked in. He turned around, and said behind his shoulder-

"Are we going outside today, Kakashi?"

"Yeah," he said, slamming his book shut. Naruto got up and patted his pocket.

"Have you guys been practicing your chakra control?"

"I didn't know we had to!" Naruto said truthfully.

"I don't need to," Sasuke insisted. Kakashi glared at them.

"Okay," he said scratching his head. "Well, whatever I teach, I'd like if you'd practice. Unless I tell you otherwise." Naruto nodded.

"What are we learning today?" he asked.

"Chakra control," Kakashi informed. "Again. A basic exercise is inserting your chakra into your feet and walking up a tree." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "It's a lot harder than it sounds." Naruto gulped. "Let me show you." He sighed. He stood in front of a tree for a second, and walked eerily up it.

Naruto widened his eyes, and Sasuke rolled his. Kakashi hung upside down on a branch.

"It's pretty fun once you get the hang of it," he said smiling. Naruto smiled.

"How do you do that?" He shouted in wonder.

"Like I said before," Kakashi said. "Send the chakra down to your feet, and with enough practice you can walk up a tree. But for beginners like you guys, you need to get momentum by running."

"Yeah! I wanna try," Naruto said. Kakashi threw a kunai each at their feet.

"Use those to mark your place, okay?" Naruto nodded and plucked the kunai from the ground.

"Awesome," he murmured to himself. The rest of the two hours went pass in a frustrating blur for Naruto. Sasuke would always get higher and higher, while Naruto would be several feet under his last few attempts. He was glad to get lunch, and rest for a while.

"Hey," a voice said behind him. Naruto spun around and almost fell off his feet. Gaara was behind him.

"Hey…um," Naruto stammered trying to remember his name.

"It's Gaara," he said. Naruto nodded.

"Are you getting any lunch, Gaara?" Naruto asked, his voice cracking.

"No," he answered flatly, and sat next to Naruto. Naruto looked out where Gaara was glaring. They sat in awkward, eerie silence and Naruto ate as fast as he could. Then there was a scream from a girl. She was pointing at something on the ground.

A bunch of people rushed over, and Gaara smiled. Naruto was caught in a chew. Gaara was smiling evilly and his eyes were wide, like a manic. Naruto couldn't help but think the screaming had something to do with something Gaara did. A teacher rushed over to the crowd of kids.

She sent everyone away, and gasped. Naruto finally had a good look at what everyone had seen. It was a kid, in a heap on the ground. He looked unconscious, and Naruto turned away when he saw red blood. He looked at Gaara. He was just staring at the person now, and still had a tiny smile on his face.

"Ga- Gaara," Naruto started. "Do you know who that is?"

"An unfortunate student," Gaara said, got up and walked away. Naruto ran into the bathroom and threw up. He cried into the sink and watched his tears river into the drain.

_An unfortunate student…_ That sent shivers up Naruto's spine, and he wiped his mouth. His eyes had looked different for a second and it happened so fast he wasn't able to see that his pupils had been in little fox slits.

During 7th period, he was called to the office. When he arrived he saw Sasuke, Neji, and Gaara. What the heck was going on?

"Hello, Naruto," the principal, Ms. Senju, greeted. "Please, everyone, come to my office." _Gulp_. Naruto didn't do anything wrong. Tsunade sat at her desk and looked at the boys.

"You know what happened at lunch, don't you?" she asked. She had a deadly stare and only Naruto couldn't hold it. Everyone nodded. "Do you know who did it?" she asked. The boys looked at each other.

"Why are we here?" Sasuke asked.

"You boys are the first four culprits I could think of who might do something like this," Tsunade said.

"I would never do something that!" Naruto protested. "To be honest, when I saw that kid, I ran in the bathroom and threw up." He left out the crying, that would have been embarrassing.

"I don't know, Naruto," she said. She got up and went to the door.

"You can ask anyone!" Naruto advised.

"That won't be necessary," she said.

"I didn't do it either," Sasuke said. "I wouldn't spend my time doing it." Naruto nodded and believed him. Neji looked zoned out, but alert.

"How is it possible to find out who really did it?" Neji asked sharply. Tsunade smiled.

"Whoever did it uses ninjutsu," she said slyly. "We know that for sure."

"Then it wasn't Naruto," Sasuke said. "He can't use any useful jutsu." Naruto had hope in his eyes. Even though he was making fun of him, he was also getting him out of trouble. However, Tsunade lowered her eyes.

"You know what I'm implying, Mr. Uchiha," she said seriously.

"Implying what?" Naruto asked clueless. Everyone looked at him. Gaara was looking at him murderously. That made Naruto stumble back a little.

"Gaara," Tsunade said. "Do you use ninjutsu?" Gaara didn't do anything, then finally nodded. "Really?" she said, placing her hand on her chin.

"Does it happen to be… sand?" she asked. Naruto stared at Tsunade with tons of questions.

"Sometimes," he answered tonelessly. Tsunade closed her eyes, and looked like she was in pain emotionally.

"You can go back to your classes now," she said, and opened the door. They walked out, and she plopped down in her chair, massaging her head. The door opened and she was relieved to see Kakashi walk in. "Perfect timing, Kakashi." She said.

"What is it, Tsunade?" he asked. She smiled.

"I need you to keep a close eye on a certain student," she said. Kakashi listened closely. "His name is Gaara. He's from Suna City, and I think he hurt a kid severely today during lunch." Kakashi nodded.

"Of course," he agreed.

"Also," she added. "We've been informed he's the one-tailed jinchuriki host." Kakashi stood in silence.

"Will do," he said, and headed out the door. Tsunade sighed, and looked out the window.

"Oh, Nawaki," she murmured. "I don't know what to do."

Naruto went straight home and locked his apartment. He curled up on the couch and turned on the T.V. Could Gaara do such a horrible thing? Maybe so, but why? He hadn't even been there a week, and he was possibly already striking kids down. What if he was next? What if Sakura was next?

Naruto got up, and thought for a minute. Should he start training, just in case he would have to protect Sakura or himself. He looked at the wall. A perfect surface to try running up and practicing chakra control. He found the sharpest knife he could find in his kitchen, and substituted it for a kunai.

He stood at his couch, and ran for his wall. He immediately slipped down the smooth wall. He was use to an engraved, changing tree; not a straight even wall. He smiled at the wonderful challenge.

Sakura was journaling in her diary about the night before. She had a soap opera playing in the background.

_ What should I write about first? Today or last night? I vote last night since it happened first and today was gruesome. _

_ Ino and I couldn't choose something to watch and she ended up sleeping on the bed. I sleep on the bed I made of blankets. She didn't plan on it happening like that, but whatever. She kept talking about things people put on Facebook, and I acted like was interested so I didn't act mean. She also talked about how her mom's flower shop's doing. _

_ She said she doesn't mind helping, but is a pain in the butt. She also said, she'd never tell her mom that! That's one thing I like about Ino. I can't explain, but I do!_

_ Now… today. I might throw up again, but if I don't record it while it's fresh in my head, I'll forget. (Which I probably do, but when I'm older and reading this… it'll be a memory… erm.) _

_ They don't know who yet, but someone injured a student today. I think his name started with a B or something. He was all bloody and gross. He's not dead, but he's in the hospital. I got a small glimpse, but it wasn't pretty. _

_ I think it was Dean or someone who's stupid. But I don't want to blame anyone yet. _

She looked outside her window. Some windows from other buildings had flashing lights from T.V.'s. She didn't need to tell her parents about the guy at school, Ino's parents called to thank them and gossiped a little bit. Sakura chuckled. Maybe that's where Ino gets her gossiping skills.

Naruto sat on the couch, and looked at the countless shoe marks on his wall. Some skidded to the side and others showed him going up. He'd gotten to the ceiling, but just barley. The curl from the wall to the ceiling was hard to get past. It as also strange to watch the floor quickly turned into the ceiling as he went upside down.

He took off his shirt and turned on the fans. He swallowed hard when he thought about school. He was glad it was Saturday the next day. Saturday also meant going to the back of the building and seeing what surprise was back there. Good or bad? Naruto wiped his forehead, panting wondering what to do.

A new thought came to his head. 'What would Sasuke do?' He liked the idea, but didn't like how he had to look up to him. 'What would Sasuke do? Tough, misleading Sasuke Uchiha; the last member of the Uchiha.' He got up, and decided it was time for a hike; to the coast down the road.

He packed a bag of instant, hard, uncooked ramen and a flashlight. He flipped the flashlight on, and shown it on the road. The rocks casted long shadows and Naruto could see the moon reflect off the water. The docks were off in the distance, and Naruto saw someone sitting at the dock. He squinted to get a better.

He started trotting in curiosity to see who was at the dock this late at night. They didn't look old enough to be a captain or have anything to do with the few boats clinging to the dock. When he finally got close enough, he saw it was Sasuke.

He quickly turned off his flashlight, and started walking slowly so Sasuke wouldn't hear him coming. Sasuke was looking out onto the horizon. Before Naruto got to the wood of the dock, he saw Sasuke slowly slip in. Naruto stared with his mouth open.

What was Sasuke doing? He couldn't be taking a swim this late at night, and his head wasn't coming back up.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, running towards where he was sitting. He started desperately into the water, looking for a shadow. He set down his stuff, clamped his nose with his fingers, and dived in after Sasuke. 

_There's a lot to review about in this chapter. Who hurt the kid at school, what's Sasuke doing, and should Naruto go behind the building on Saturday? I already know the answers (um… I'm the author) but I want to hear what you have to say. Please review. (Oh yeah, this sounds desperate, but tell your friends about this story please!) _


	7. Chapter 7

_Hopefully you'll love this chapter as much I did. __**I don't own NARUTO.**_

Naruto plunged into the cold, dark water, flinging his sight in all directions; looking for Sasuke. Naruto swam deeper, not enjoying the pressure building up in his ears. The water was getting darker, and there seemed to be no one under. Then, he saw a trail of bubbles, floating up to the surface. He followed them, and squinted after Sasuke.

Finally, he saw Sasuke floating lower and lower into the depths of the water. He quickly kicked his legs after Sasuke, and grabbed his shoulder. Sasuke jerk around, hitting him hard in the side. Naruto clenched it, and fiercely caught Sasuke with both hands. Sasuke then spun around all the way, and started trying to kick him.

Naruto was trying to help him; why was Sasuke attacking him? He weakly grabbed Sasuke wrist running out of air. He tried speaking to him, but only got a jumbled mess of bubbles coming out. Sasuke stopped struggling, and started tugging. Sasuke was taking him down with him? Naruto started panicking, he couldn't breath! His lungs started tightening, and Naruto pulled defiantly.

Sasuke grabbed both hands on Naruto's wrist, and tugged hard. Naruto started crying in pain and panic. He cried out to Sasuke, and slipped his hand through both of his. He hit the surface, and breathed gratefully. He paddled toward the coast, and laid there breathless. He clamped his heart.

It was beating faster than ever. He quickly jerked up, so see if Sasuke's head was coming up. His eyes jumped when all he saw were waves. He was too scared to go back in, Sasuke almost drowned him! He lay back down, and was close to tears. He felt something grab his leg. Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke, staring at him with anger.

They didn't talk for a long time, Naruto was exhausted, and Sasuke was quiet in anger. He finally got up, and started walking in the direction of his home. Naruto sat up.

"Wait a second, Sasuke," he said. Sasuke didn't look back at him, but stopped walking. "What were you doing? You had me thinking you were suicidal!" Naruto was on his feet now.

"Why would you have cared?" Sasuke asked. Naruto didn't say anything, he was stumped. He stared at Sasuke back, and thought. Why did he get scared? Maybe it was because he was nice. Why did he care? He couldn't put it into words.

"Were you trying to kill me?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked at the ground.

"No," he finally answered. "I didn't want you to come back in the water. And it worked." Naruto was stiff. Sasuke wanted to scare him, so he wouldn't come and get him anymore. He closed his eyes, thinking.

"Sasuke," he said. "Why did you do that?"

"It clears my head,"

Naruto started walking home, without asking anymore. Sasuke was still standing there, and the last Naruto looked back at him, he had vanished.

2:56 p.m. Naruto stared at the clock and sighed. His curiosity was about was waiting for him behind the apartment building at 3:00 was nipping at him slowly. He got up, and went out the door, heading for downstairs. He went out the front door, and stopped. Was he finally going to meet his secret lover?

He looked ahead boldly, and walked to the side of the building. It was a dark alleyway between a building next to the apartment building. He pressed his hand against the side of the building, feeling the grime scrapping onto his hand. He stopped at the edge, hearing tiny, petite, familiar footsteps. He slowly swung his head around the side, smelling the trashcans' remains. He saw a shadow turning the corner of the side of the building.

He looked around, and nothing was there, so he decided to follow the shadow. He started trotting after it, when it started disappearing. He saw the back of a tiny girl. He'd seen her around school. This was it! He ran after her.

"Hey," he called. The girl jumped, didn't turn around, and ran to the right; away from the building. Naruto ran full-speed after her. She was gone when he got out in the open. He looked around a few times, and gave up. The girl ran off, it wasn't time to meet her yet.

He sighed and headed behind the building again. He clamped his nose, to protect it from the stench of the trash cans. A cat watched him from the fence attached to the neighboring building. He looked around, and saw an envelop. On the top of the letter, it was signed _To Naruto _in beautiful girl handwriting. He felt warm inside, and realized his love was leaning towards this Blue-eyed and Misunderstood.

"Sakura," he gasped. He looked at the letter, and opened the trash lid. If this girl was making him crawl away Sakura, then maybe he didn't want to read these letters. But what was contained in this one? He sighed and decided to read it, and throw it away when he was finished. He tore the top of the envelop, and recovered the letter.

_Naruto,_

_ I can't think of anything else to say to you in these letters. But here's a list of things that I love about you._

_You don't care what anyone says._

_You try to stick up for yourself._

_You really nice._

_Um… I can't help it. You're good looking._

_I want to meet you at the harbor down the road of where you live tomorrow. I love you, Naruto._

_Blue-eyed and Misunderstood_

Naruto read the letter 2 times, and scratched his forehead. He wanted to meet her, but he loved Sakura. How was he going to explain to Blue-eyed? He sucked in a huge breath of air and threw away the letter.

Tomorrow at the harbor- of course he'd go.

Naruto looked down when he heard purring and felt warm fur. He smiled at the orange striped cat that had been watching him. He always had a soft spot for cats, and cats didn't normal like him. They normally hid from him, and hissed.

This one purred loudly, rubbing hard. He picked up the cat, and pet it's head softly. He carried it inside, and was stopped by Asuma.

"No pets in the building," he said roughly. Naruto huffed.

"Why?"

"Because it's the rules."

"Fine," Naruto snapped. He went around the building, and tried stuffing the cat into his shirt. He had a large clumpy lump around his chest, but it was the only way to get it into the building. The cat was going nuts, and when it slid to his stomach it scratched murderously at it. He pulled off his shirt and ran behind the building, trying to ease the cat.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, looking at the raw red marks on his stomach. They were right around the center of the black birthmarks he'd had all his life. He rubbed it and the cat licked it's paws. "Stupid cat," he murmured. He got up, and put his shirt back on.

"I'll bring food back here for you," he said. "Everyday!" He promised.

Sakura was sun baking on her front lawn, while her mom watering the flowers outside their house. Sakura sighed as she watched the clouds drift by. She'd heard Shikamaru doing this, and decided to mimic his past-time activity.

"Mom," she said. "Did you like anyone at your school when you were younger? Like, like-like."

"I liked a couple boys," she said. "Why? What's on your mind?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," she said smiling. Her mother stopped watering the flowers and looked troubling at her daughter.

"I've heard he's a trouble-maker."

"He's strong."

"I've heard he can be mean."

"He's hot."

"Looks don't mean anything."

"And I'm not pretty at all." Sakura's mother stomped her foot.

"You're very pretty," she said. "You're my little Sakura." Sakura shook her head.

"Never mind, mom," she got up, and went inside.

"Oh," her mother moaned. "What am I going to do with her?"

Naruto scooted a bowl of milk towards the cat. It drank happily, and cautiously watched him. He smiled delighted that the cat had taken it. He rubbed his stomach, and frowned when he saw blood sinking into his shirt. He had to change his shirt out, and put a band-aid over the cut.

The day pasted peacefully, and Sunday came; the day Naruto was going to meet his love. She hadn't given any hints to who she was, besides the name. He knew a lot of girls with blue eyes, but not enough to know if they were misunderstood. He walked as the breeze pushed him sideways.

The day was windy and sunny. It got a little chilly down by the harbor. His jacket flapped in the early autumn wind. He looked around for a girl his age. She hadn't given a time, so he was going to wait. He had nothing better to do. He sat on a bench, and watched the sun rotate across the sky. The sun was head down west, when Naruto decided it was a scam.

He got up, and when he turned around, a girl was behind the bench, looking into his eyes.

She had short blue hair, which hardly moved in the wind, a tan jacket with a blue t-shirt poking out of it, loose jeans, and church looking shoes. She nervously played with her fingers. Naruto's heart had jumped when he first saw her. He hadn't heard anyone sneaking up behind him.

The strangest thing about her was her gray eyes. They looked worried and shy too.

"Blue-eyed and Misunderstood?" Naruto asked. "Hinata?" She jumped when he said her name, and blushed.

"N-Naruto," she said. "Sorry, I didn't tell you sooner." Naruto nodded. "I snuck out of my home to come see you." She started falling to the side, and caught herself on the bench. Naruto went to her side, to hold her arm so she could stand.

"I would have never guessed it was you, Hinata," Naruto admitted. "You called yourself Blue-eyed, but you have grayish eyes."

"Yes," she said. "But I'm a Hyuga, and I thought I left a hint by saying Blue-eyed. My eyes turn blue, so I've heard, when I use Byakugan." She smiled weakly.

"Hinata," Naruto said, softening. "I…" He was figuring out a way to tell her that he didn't love her like that. He loved Sakura. But he couldn't tell her that when he just met her, so to speak.

"Oh," she moaned, and started falling on the opposite side of him. He rushed over, and they both fell over on the ground. She had toppled on top of him, she had past-out. He gently moved her off of him, and tried carrying her to a nearby tree to lay against when he went for help.

She was lighter than Naruto thought! He looked at her soft face, and looked away quickly. No way… Hinata would never replace the special spot he had for Sakura Haruno. When he set her against a thin tree, he realized he couldn't get help from some in her family; she had escaped to come see him.

He was stuck. He thought about waiting there until she woke up, but how long would that take? Well, he had wasted half his day, so why not the rest. He leaned against the same tree, and rested until Hinata woke up.

He watched the fog build up in the air. He jumped up, when he saw a figure in the fog coming towards them. The person was right there, and Naruto realized it was Neji Hyuga.

"I need to take Hinata home," he said in disgust.

"Who said?" Naruto asked. "Who are you to her anyway?"

"I'm her cousin," he snarled. "Now, move!" He pushed Naruto out of the way, and he felt on his elbows this time. Neji easily picked her up, and hoisted her over his back. Naruto stared at him.

"Who asked you to take her?" Naruto asked, following Neji from his side.

"I'm from a different branch of the Hyuga," he informed flatly. "in a lower part, and so they asked me to do them a simple chore."

"Please don't get her in trouble," Naruto blurted out. Neji stared at him coldly.

"If it weren't for you," he snapped. "she wouldn't have snuck out in the first place, Uzumaki." Naruto squinted at Hinata's angel face, and wanted to slap Neji for her.

"How did you know it was because of me?" he asked.

"She's been obsessed with writing those stupid letters." He said. "She rewrote them a billion times before making a letter worth to send to you." He sneered when he said "you." Naruto stopped walking, because they were at the apartment.

"Cover her butt for her, please," Naruto begged.

"I'll see what I can do," he said without heart, and walked off.

Naruto entered Kakashi's classroom, and he was alone. Was he early? He sat in his usual seat, and watched the clock tick minutes away from they're assigned time. Sasuke walked in, and looked around the classroom confused.

"Where's Kakashi?" He asked. Naruto shrugged, and Sasuke sat down. "He's late."

"No duh," Naruto snapped. They sat in empty silence. The door opened, and Kakashi came in.

"Hey, guys," he greeted with a guilty smile.

"You're late," Sasuke informed. Naruto shot an annoyed look at him.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I was…"

"We don't need to hear you're excuses." Sasuke cut him off.

"Alright," Kakashi said, motioning them to follow him. "Today, we're learning a new jutsu."

_I love this chapter! It has action, drama, cutesy, and romance! Please please review!_


	8. Chapter 8

_**I don't own NARUTO!**_

"Shadow-clone jutsu," Sasuke asked flatly, crossing his arms. "That's too easy,"

"What's that?" Naruto asked, swatting at a persistent gnat.

"It'll be an efficient way to insert chakra," Kakashi defended. Sasuke sighed, and glared at Naruto.

"How come," Naruto asked, squinting against the sun. "What _is _Shadow Clone Jutsu?" In response, Sasuke groaned loudly.

"It's a jutsu where you make a clone of yourself with chakra," Kakashi explained. Naruto chuckled mischievously, while Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's very useful; you make a team of yourself. Sasuke," he glared. "Can you help me demonstrate?" Sasuke huffed his okay.

Kakashi made a hand sign that, to Naruto, looked like a cross. In two puffs of smoke beside him, were two life-like clones of Kakashi. Naruto's mouth dropped open, and Sasuke made the hand sign. Two clones appeared from puffs of smoke beside him.

"Okay," Kakashi started. "Now, this looks great, right? There are more players to help me fight."

"That looks perfect!" Naruto corrected.

"Wrong," Kakashi said quickly. "If I were hit one of Sasuke's shadow clones," He punched one, and it disappeared in a white, curling puff of smoke. "They disappear."

"Oh," Naruto said. Sasuke sighed at his lack of knowledge.

"But," Kakashi said. "If you control your shadow clones correctly, they don't get hit, and they can act as though they're you."

"That's awesome," Naruto smiled. Sasuke leaned against one of the trees. "I could have, like, three shadow clones doing my chores!"

"Kill me now," Sasuke murmured under his breath. Kakashi gave him a quick glance, and told Naruto to start practicing. Naruto's first hour was a complete failure, and didn't think he was going to get it in the next hour. Sasuke was practicing running up the tree, which brought Naruto even lower on the confidence scale because Sasuke was making progress.

They'd give each other heated stares and resume their training. Kakashi would look up every once in a while, while he read his book. The day was sunny, but pleasant under the shade of the school buildings.

"Yes!" Naruto shout in triumph when he saw a puff of smoke appear beside him. When the smoke cleared, it cleared too quickly. Naruto wailed in frustration when the shadow clone was in a gray heap in the ground.

"Great shadow clone, Naruto," Sasuke taunted. Naruto cracked his fists, debating weather to hit him or not. Kakashi was looking up, so Naruto unraveled his fists. He stomped the clone, and focused contently on the jutsu. His heart was pounding to the beat of Sasuke rushed footsteps against the tree. He shook his head, and refocused. Another puff of smoke came up, and Naruto looked through his hands while the smoke cleared. This one was on the ground, but it wasn't as gray as the last.

"Man," Sasuke said. "And who would have thought…" Sasuke left it at that, shaking his head at the clone. Naruto gulped down half his anger.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked slowly, keeping his voice down forcefully.

"That there is some greater power deep, down inside of you," he faced the tree again.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked confused.

"Forget it," Sasuke sneered.

"Hey, take that smirk off your face!" Naruto shouted. His frustration wasn't helping, and Sasuke's negative and confusing comments were frustrating him even more. He felt his patients were being grated against a grater, harder and harder. His anger was building up as a rolling snowball inside him, faster and faster.

"I'm not taking orders from someone as retarded as you," he said, looking at the tree.

"I've had enough of you, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed; Sasuke glared at the nothing now.

"Hey," Kakashi warned, feeling the heat getting hotter. A fight was about to start, and he was going to stop it before it started.

"Let's see how this is going to-"Sasuke was stopped by a blow in his face from Naruto's fist. Naruto looked at his red fist in surprise, and Sasuke was shock for less than a second. He returned the hit, sending Naruto backwards. Naruto was done playing around. He flipped backwards before he hit the ground and swiftly got to his feet.

Naruto equipped one of Sasuke's extra kunai's on the ground, and held it back ready to strike Sasuke. Sasuke grabbed a nearby kunai, and held it up, ready to guard any of Naruto's next moves. Naruto moved at a brisk threatened pace. They were at each other's throats when Kakashi pried them loose, and pushed them back hard. They looked at Kakashi in surprise at first and were thrown back into reality.

"What's the matter with you two?" He asked. Naruto huffed, and Sasuke glared, with new sweat dropping down his face. They were quiet for a long time, and the wind blew refreshingly on Naruto's sweat-moistened face.

"I thought you guys were at a mature age to not do this," Kakashi said with his eyes closed.

"Do what?" Naruto asked with a forcefully tone.

"To not use it against each other," Kakashi admitted rubbing his neck. Naruto massaged where a lump was swelling. He watched Sasuke ignore his swelling cheek. Naruto had done that, and he was impressed with his own strength. Naruto wiped a drop of blood from his neck. Sasuke had been pressing hard with his kunai. The next time he went to wipe the blood it was gone, and he didn't feel the sting of the cut.

It had healed pretty fast. Sasuke eyed Naruto's hand; he had noticed his speed-healing.

"Did you see Sasuke?" Ino asked Sakura while she busily did homework while eating lunch.

"Hmm, nope; at least not today," Sakura said in between bites.

"The news is all over school!" Ino exclaimed, excited and annoyed. "Sasuke got in a fight with Naruto!"

"Naruto?" Sakura choked.

"And he has a mark," Ino informed. "On his face." She whispered the last part. Sakura dropped her pencil and stared disbelievingly into space. "And you haven't heard," Ino mumbled ashamed. "I can't belie-"

"When," Sakura said, trying to regain her thoughts. "When did this happen?"

"Like, yesterday," she said, and jumped pointing. "Don't look now, but here he comes." Sakura turned around anyway, and gasped at the purple raised lump on his cheek. He glared nastily at everyone who looked at him. Sakura wanted to say something comforting as he pasted by, but only a stare continued. To her horror, he stopped and looked straight into her eyes.

She jumped, but held the gaze. He walked away, and didn't look back. She lightly touched her cheek, and looked at Ino slowly.

"You're blushing," Ino said, crossing her arms.

"He…" she twirled her hair, and picked up her pencil biting it fiercely. "Why do you think he did that?" Ino shrugged.

"He's odd like that," then she smiled. "But hot as well." Sakura smiled.

"He's so cute with that war mark on his face," she said.

"That bully Naruto," Ino whined. Naruto was sitting a few tables away, and he and Sasuke had kept eye contact for a long time. Nobody knew what truly happened, so the teachers didn't discipline them in anyway. Kakashi hadn't said anything.

That week passed painfully slow, but Friday came and Naruto didn't want to know what barrage of complaints Sasuke had that day. When Naruto entered, he was surprised to see a substitute sitting at the teacher's desk. Naruto sat down slowly in his chair, and eyed the sub.

He had dark, circled glasses on, his hair was hidden behind a black bandana, he had a solemn look on his face, and he wore a nerdish looking vest and a tan shirt underneath. Naruto tried seeing through his glasses, but they were so tinted you couldn't see a thing.

Sasuke finally arrived, and sat a across the table from him. They glared at each other, until the sub talked. He cleared his throat.

"I'm Ebisu," he greeted. Naruto noted how dorky he talked. "I'm subbing for Kakashi."

'No duh,' Naruto thought.

"He had me print out these worksheets," Ebisu said.

"Say what?" Naruto exclaimed. "Worksheets, in this class?"

"Yes," Ebisu passed out the worksheets to them, and Naruto slouched over the paper. Sasuke stared at it, like he wanted it to burn up and shrivel into ashes. For the next hour, Naruto daydreamed looking at the paper, being detracted by an occasional giggle from Ebisu.

"What are laughing about?" Sasuke finally asked annoyed.

"Nothing you kids would find interesting," he said in between chuckles. Naruto boldly got up, and looked over Ebisu's shoulder at what he was looking at. He was looking at girls in tiny bikinis.

"Oh my-"

"Hey!" Ebisu covered the screen with his hands, covering the girl. Naruto chuckled, and sat back down. Then the door opened. In walked a mischievous-looking man, with red painted streaks under his eyes, with white, spiked hair in a pony tail, red shirt, motorcycle gloves, and khaki pants. He looked at Ebisu, and frowned.

"You can take a break," the man said. "They sent me here." Ebisu looked up, nodded fluttery, and walked out. The man sat down, and Naruto watched him carefully.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm someone your teacher sent here for extra training." He said. He glanced at the screen, and was silent for a while, smiling.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said doubtfully. "Sent _you_?"

"What you don't believe me?" he said. He reached into his pocket, and had a folded up piece of paper in his hand. "It's from him." Sasuke looked at Naruto with such annoyance, that Naruto had to mirror his face.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked again. "I mean your name."

"I'm Jiraiya!" he greeted cheerfully. "You guys ready to go outside?" Naruto and Sasuke got up, trying to beat each other to it. They went outside, and Naruto looked at all the thin marks Sasuke had made running up the tree and striking it. "Now what were you guys working on?"

"I was working on Shadow Clone!" Naruto announced.

"I was running up the tree," Sasuke said pointing at the tree.

"Okay, then!" Jiraiya said clapping his hands together. "Lets see what you've done so far, Naruto." Sasuke huffed, picked up a hidden kunai, and began practicing. Naruto did the cross resembled hand sign, and closed his eyes in concentration. A puff of curly smoke came up, and a gray Naruto appeared… again.

Naruto growled in frustration, and didn't want to look at Jiraiya. He tried again, and got the same results.

"Why can't I do it right?" he grumbled in frustration. He rustled his hair, and heard Jiraiya sigh.

"You're getting yourself too worked up." He said. "In order to control chakra, you need to relax and focus.

"Relax," Naruto repeated, breathing deeply. He closed his eyes, and felt a shift in his body. He felt like all his cells were working and a force was building up. He made a hand sign and saw smoke. "Please, please, please, please," He prayed, with his hands clamped together. The smoke cleared, and a life-like, cross armed Naruto appeared.

"Yahoo!" Naruto cheered, hugging his shadow clone. It was gone in a puff of smoke, and Naruto pressed his arms around himself. "Did you see it? I did it!" Sasuke jumped down, unaware of what had just happened.

"See, Sasuke," Naruto said. "I did make a shadow clone!" Sasuke grunted, and kept running up the tree. Naruto laughed, and looked at Jiraiya happily. "Thanks,"

"Can you make a second?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto thought for a second.

"Let's see," Naruto responded confidently. He relaxed his shoulders, felt around for the shift in his body as he focused, and made the hand sign. One clone came out perfect, and the other was dead on the ground. He groaned, and straightened. "I can't give up yet!" He exclaimed. Jiraiya watched intently.

On his second try, two efficient shadow clones were standing beside him, and Naruto smiled proudly, waiting to gloat to Sasuke.

"I did it, Sasuke," he gloated. "See?" He pointed at his shadow clones, and laughed. Sasuke looked at them and quickly returned to focusing. He couldn't let Naruto distract him, or let him make more progress than him. He ran, and felt his feet adjust to the tree as he ran up it. He glared at the sky horribly, angry at the fact that Naruto was improving quicker.

He shouted in determination to himself, felt himself tipping backwards, and struck the tree. That was the farthest he had made so far. He was going to get to the top of the tree, and the top of Naruto.

_So? Whatcha think? Sorry this one might be a little slow for others. Others think it was interesting… please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry the last copy of the chapter didn'thave an author's note. (For people who read it before now) __**I don't own Naruto!**_

It had been a couple weeks since anything extraordinary had happened at school for Naruto. He hadn't thought about the incident about Gaara for a while, he had been chatting with Hinata now and then, class was the same and Kakashi hadn't come back in a few weeks, and Sasuke was the same; just a little grumpier. Naruto walked to the consular's classroom, when he was thinking about what he'd be learning about that day.

When he entered, he was the first one there; as usual. He set is bookbag aside, and sat in his regular seat. The clock ticked away, and the bell rang. He glanced out the window to see Sasuke walking as slow as ever to class. He entered the classroom and didn't look at Naruto. The weather was getting colder, and Sasuke had a black jacket on, zipped up, and the hood on.

"Where's Jiraiya?" Naruto asked, afraid the silence was going to suffocate him. Sasuke shrugged. Naruto noticed Sasuke had a new bruise on his face. "What's up with your face?"

"None of your business, Uzumaki," he snapped, and pulled the hood lower. Jiraiya walked in and yanked off Sasuke's hood. Sasuke turned around to face him and glared.

"How's your day today, guys?" He asked cheerfully.

"Why are you so…" Naruto couldn't find the right word.

"I'm working on a new book," he said, smiling.

"Creep," Sasuke murmured.

"So," Jiraiya ignored. "Lets go outside!" They went outside, Naruto crossed his arms for warmth under his orange jacket, and Sasuke had his hands in his pockets. He looked at the tree like he owned it. He had finished getting to the top last session, and Naruto had somewhat mastered Shadow Clone.

"When is Kakashi coming back?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know," Jiraiya said. "He didn't tell me." Naruto and Sasuke snorted, and looked at each other.

'We got a lot to show him, don't we, Sasuke?' Naruto thought. They left they're look and brought they're attention to Jiraiya.

"Okay, Naruto," Jiraiya resumed. "Show me your Shadow Clone!" Naruto closed his eyes, made the hand-sign, and four perfect shadow clones of Naruto appeared. He smiled at them proudly, and shrugged.

"I don't think I need anymore practice," Naruto suggested.

"It's good enough," Jiraiya countered. "Since you guys have finished your assignments, you can go back to class."

"What!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, a little surprised.

"Kakashi asked me to finished training you and stop when you mastered your assignments," Jiraiya explained. "Come back on Friday, and I'll update you." Naruto whined, and Sasuke was giving silent stares of death.

"Come on," Naruto complained, halfway out the classroom. "We can practice something else!"

"Good-bye," Jiraiya waved, pushing him out the door, and closing it. Naruto sighed and caught up with Sasuke.

Lunch was just a mush of food in Naruto's mouth; he didn't taste anything. He spotted Gaara sitting alone as always, playing in the dirt. He drew in it, and moved it around. Naruto sighed, and deiced if there was anyone who needed someone right now, it was Gaara. He got up, fighting against all of the "what if's" in his head.

"H-Hey, Gaara," Naruto greeted, sitting next to him. Gaara didn't look up or acknowledge him. "What are you doing?" Nothing, this kid had no emotion. Naruto sighed, and took out a chip bag. "Hungry?" He looked a little to the side, and kept drawing in the dirt.

A kid pasted by and kicked dirt in their faces. Naruto got up and wiped his tearing eyes.

"What the heck, you freak!" he called after them, brushing the dirt from his clothes. Gaara looked like he didn't get anything on him, and he hadn't moved. Naruto slowly sat down, and resumed eating.

"I want to," Gaara said speaking slowly. "I want to show you something." Naruto looked at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"It's a surprise," Gaara said smiling. Naruto gulped, and thought if he got into any trouble he'd use Shadow Clone. They got up and walked behind the cafeteria, where no one went; probably not even the lunch ladies. The shade ran a chill down his spine, or it was just his fear. He rubbed his arms, and Gaara didn't react to the shade at all.

"Close your eyes," Gaara said, smiling. Naruto slowly closed his eyes, alert. His heart was pumping and his body was shaking. Naruto bit his lip, willing the shaking to stop. He heard a sound that sounded gritty and smooth. He felt nervous sweat roll down his face.

What the heck was Gaara doing? Naruto opened his eyes and stumbled back, and fell on his butt. Gaara was controlling a huge mound of sand, and it was aiming for Naruto! He jumped up to his feet, and quickly made an extra Shadow Clone. It ran after Gaara, but he hit it with sand, and it disappeared.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted, his voice cracking. "Gaara, stop!" He was going to die, behind his horrible school with a murderous kid about to kill him with something no one dies from; sand. He got to his feet, and was ready for the blow of his life. Then when he didn't feel anything, and realized the only thing he heard was silence, grunting, and a ring in his ear that came from fear. What he saw was shocking, and amazing.

Gaara was being held down by Kakashi , and Kakashi casually had a kunai to the back of his neck.

"Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed, shocked, relieved, and surprisingly disappointed. He might have been about to take Gaara on his own, but he'd never know now…

"Don't think of anything funny," Kakashi told Gaara, He looked wide-eyed, surprised, and hateful.

"K-Kakashi…" Naruto walked slowly towards Gaara and Kakashi.

"What were you guys doing back here?" Kakashi demanded. Naruto was still in shock, locked in a look from Gaara.

"He- He said he was going to show me something'" Naruto said shakily.

"That's not true," Gaara hissed under pressure. "He followed me."

"Back here?" Kakashi quizzed.

"Why would I stinkin' follow you back here?" Naruto asked, with his nose scrunched, starting to feel superior.

"By what I saw," Kakashi said, with finality in his voice. "Naruto isn't in trouble, and you're dead when Tsunade finds out what happens." Gaara growled, frustrated. Kakashi let him get up, but had a death grip on his arm. Gaara stared at Naruto the whole time, and Naruto bravely didn't leave his gaze.

"He's in trouble," Ino informed Sakura. "He tried to _kill_ Naruto!"

"That's horrible," Sakura complained. "Why would Gaara do something like that?"

"You know what?" Ino asked, glancing over her shoulder. "I think he hurt the last kid. Remember him?"

"Oh yeah," Sakura recalled. "His name started with, like, a B or something."

"Hmm-hmm." Ino nodded, feeling clever. "He's a murderous one, he is." Sakura eyed Sasuke silently, noticing the new bruise.

"Sasuke has another bruise," she informed. Ino turned around, and gasped.

"The poor baby," Ino cooed. Sakura smiled at her naivety.

"Is Gaara expelled?" Sakura asked, trying to turn Ino around.

"Duh!" Ino exclaimed.

Naruto covered himself with his hood, and listened to the radio on the bus. All of the kids were interviewing him about the "fight". Naruto didn't see it as a fight; he saw it as a war. What kind of power did Gaara hold? He apparently used jutsu, but how was he able to control sand as freely as he did? He shrugged to himself, and pulled the hood lower over his face for privacy.

Gaara came home to a regular empty home. He walked in, put his bag in his room, and lied on his bed. He looked at the dark ceiling, and waited for Kankuro and Temari to come home. After several minutes the front door opened, and Gaara sighed. He looked out his shadowed window, and stared.

No one came in to see if he was okay, or anything. They went on with their life, basically tripping over Gaara, only helping him out if it were important. Gaara didn't care; it was the same in Suna City. The cheap, old phone went off, and Gaara heard Kankuro answer it. The phone was still attached to the wall with a curly wire, and Gaara heard it clack against the wall as Kankuro paced as he talked.

Gaara stared out the window, not expecting Kankuro to burst in.

"Front room." He snapped pointing out his room. Gaara walked out of his room slowly, staring at his brother. He sat on a scratchy old couch, and Temari was in the kitchen drinking her heated tea. Kankuro stood there for a while, looking for words. Finally Gaara started off the conversation.

"What do you need?"

"That was your school. They say you were, I don't know, expelled!" The strange thing about Kankuro was that he wasn't angry, but he wasn't pleased. Gaara nodded.

"I think I know that, you idiot," Gaara growled.

"Why?" Kankuro asked. "Why did you use your power?"

"He never has a reason," Temari poked out, between a sip of tea.

"That was stupid!" Kankuro exclaimed, ignoring Temari.

"Can I go back to my room now?" Gaara asked impatiently. Kankuro turned around and looked at Temari.

"Go," Temari insisted. Gaara shuffled to his room, closed the door, and blankly stood there. He finally collapsed on the ground where he was, and grasped his head. A pain shot high up it, and he rested his head on the ground.

"U-Uzumaki… Naruto," he murmured.

"Brr!" Naruto exclaimed, turning up the heat in his room. He put his jacket on, and was scratching out another day gone until his birthday. Five more days until October 10th. He rushed to close one of the loose windows, which had invited a dry leaf into his apartment. He had a chill run up his spine, and he decided to go walk around.

The main part of the building was decorated with Halloween decorations. Orange tinsel was on one of the trees as you walked in, and a paper skeleton on the wall. Naruto walked behind the building, and greeted his favorite cat.

"Hey..." then he stopped, realizing he didn't name it. It purred loudly, rubbing his leg warm. It had grown bigger, and Naruto went down on his knees and pet it.

"How do you like the name Sakura?" Naruto asked, and then he picked up the cat and found that it was a boy.

"How about…" He went blank. No meaningful male names came to mind. "Oh, well. I'll call you Cat for now." Cat purred, and pawed at his hands. Naruto looked up, and went inside. The days were getting shorter, he could tell. When he got to his apartment he jiggled the door knob to had discovered-

"I locked myself out," he said, shoving his hands in his pocket. He ran to find Asuma. He found him smoking a cigarette, reading the newspaper. He asked for a replica key, and was able to get into his apartment. When he walked in, to his horror, Gaara was there staring straight into his eyes.

_ Scary stuff… can't wait for the next chapter!_


	10. Chapter 10

_I think this is one of my better chapters, please enjoy! __**I don't own Naruto!**_

A "forest" kids called it was north of the apartment Naruto lived in. It was right next to the dock, and sailed on for miles. A huge section of trees that kids played in, people camped in, and brought mystery to the town.

Naruto had run there for safe, with Gaara chasing after him. Blows of sand wisped past his face, which brought more power to Naruto's run. It was a horrible place to be if you don't know where a killer is. The trees were thick and Naruto would run around openings. Gaara was still on his tail.

Naruto had to stop and catch his breath; he couldn't run forever, and Kakashi wasn't there to save him this time. Naruto raised his shoulders, and put his game face on.

This fight was him and Gaara.

Gaara paused a few yards in front of him. They stared at each other, and Naruto felt every emotion bubble up; he was ready.

Startlingly, Gaara started laughing. Naruto swallowed, and lowered his stare.

"What so funny?" he asked bravely, hearing something brave in his tone he'd never heard before.

"You?" Gaara asked between a cackle. "You are going to fight me?" His cackle was horribly raspy and dead sounding.

"What's so funny about that?" Naruto asked, raising his head.

"You're so _weak_," Gaara taunted."You really are stupid." Naruto felt a pulse raise, and a fury he'd never felt before. It started in his stomach and made his shoulders rise. The dirt around Gaara started slowly swirling. Naruto braced himself, and cautiously watched the sand. He could still see a blur of Gaara.

Naruto let out a naturally roar, and raced into the sand. Gaara grabbed him and through him on the ground. Naruto raced up, and ran in a different direction; just missing a plow of sand that could have crushed him. Naruto found Gaara, and tried grabbing him. Gaara spun around and they clasped hands.

They pushed against each other, holding each others power evenly. They stared into each others eyes. Gaara's eyes were dark, murderous, confused, and dangerous. Naruto had determined, persistent, and strong eyes. They grunted, not letting go of each other, trying to push each other down.

"Why-" Naruto grunted. "Why do you want to kill me so- so bad?"

"You don't get it!" Gaara shouted. "What do I live for?" Naruto felt a tingle of surprise crawl up his body. "I was born… I was born to kill!" Naruto, shook his head, and finally pushed Gaara hard on the ground.

"I don't get it!" Naruto exclaimed, yelling over the fury of sand. "Why would you say that?" Gaara looked at his hands…

_My hands… Why does everyone run away from me? _Gaara walked on a deserted street in Suna City. Cars never came down this road, and people never visited. Gaara never saw people come out of their houses. He walked home, and opened the door to his house. He walked past his father, who stared at him until he went into his room.

Gaara's room was filled with toys, but everything else was dull and depressing. Gaara climbed up into the window, and watched one of the stars.

"I still don't get it!" Naruto shouted, walking slowly up to Gaara.

"My father was an idiot!" Gaara shouted. "He spoiled me, but treated me like I was some kind of _monster_!" He got up, and Naruto shielded his eyes from the swirling sand. It stung as it hit his skin.

"Why did he think you were a monster?" Naruto asked other the sound of rushing sand.

"I _am _monster!" He yelled. Even though sand was rushing past them, Naruto felt Gaara would still be shouting. "Don't you get it? You are too!"

"How can you say that, you jerk?" Naruto exclaimed, plunging at him, punching him. Gaara flung himself to his feet, and hit Naruto in the side, making him fall backwards, and balance onto a tree. Naruto watched I horror how the sand was coating Gaara, forming a demon-like body. It was hulky and powerful. It laughed eerily, starting off sound like Gaara and slowly combining in a deep growling laugh.

Naruto pressed up against the tree, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and it was-

"Jiraiya!"

"Shh!" He covered a lip and took out a scroll. He bit his thumb, placed it on the scroll, and left. Naruto shrugged, and hid the scroll behind the tree.

"This," the monster that once was Gaara growled. "Is the reason why my father hated me."

"How can you compare me to that?" He shouted confused. The demon slashed, and Naruto jumped to the side. At first he thought he missed the blow, but he looked down at his leg, and it had tore through his pants, and was started to bleed. He felt the sting as he released two shadow clones.

The three of them, ran after the monster, but Naruto ducked watching the shadow clones poof into oblivion. He shouted in determination and saw the forest dotted with himself. He realized he had used an amazingly great shadow clone jutsu. They charged after the beast.

Some would land on the monster and punch it, leaving small dents. The real Naruto, while Gaara or whatever it was detracted, he ran to the scroll, and opened it. It rolled out and he saw a list of names written in red.

_Jiraiya_

_Minato_

And many more. Naruto looked at it confused, and tried to recall what Jiraiya had done. He had bit his thumb… what did that mean? The names were written in red…

"Oh man," Naruto groaned. The names, if Naruto wasn't wrong, were written in blood. Jiraiya had suggested biting his thumb to where he bled! Naruto looked at his thumb, feeling his stomach turning. He gulped, and bit hard into his thumb. He shook it in pain, and wrote his name on the scroll.

_NARUTO_

"Arg…" he moaned in frustration. The sting from the rough paper hurt, but he was also confused. "What did that do?" Jiraiya came back, quietly walking from behind a tree, and bit both his fingers again, and pointed at the ground. He disappeared, holding up a peace sign.

Naruto looked at his hands in disbelief. He couldn't stare any longer, Gaara had sliced through a tree behind Naruto, and was about to kill him with on huge sand paw. It roared in frustration when Naruto had rolled to the side. He bit his thumbs and shoved them in the ground.

He gaped at the huge toad that had just appeared in a titanic puff of smoke. It was taller than the trees, and wider than the apartment building, and he was standing on top of it! It was a dull red, and was smoking a giant cigar.

"Woah!" Naruto laughed, ready for action.

"Why did you disrupt me?" It asked, making Naruto fall down, not knowing it talked.

"If you haven't noticed," Naruto said sourly, hiding his excitement. "We're being attacked." The beast had grown to the toad's size.

"Oh!" it said surprised. "What kind o' shrimp can sum-"

"Watch out!" Naruto warned fast, and the toad jumped back. "Hey, wait… did you just call me a SHRIMP?"

"Do you know who that is?" the toad asked. "On a better note, do you know who I am?"

"No," Naruto said, shaking.

"I'm Gamabunta," he greeted.

"Jiraiya just gave me a scroll and-"

"Oh, so this is Jiraiya's doing; of course."

"What is that beast?" Naruto asked, sitting down, watching the monster eye them.

"It's the one tailed Shukaku," Gamabunta explained.

"One tailed wha-" The earth shook, and Naruto held onto Gamabunta for his life. Shukaku was shaking it's tail, and heading straight for them. "What do we do?"

"I'll hold him off, but you have to get to the kid on the Shukaku,"

"What?" Naruto hadn't noticed Gaara standing on the beast's head. "Gaara!" He shouted, cuffing his hands over his mouth.

_ Yashamaru… _ Gaara held the hand of his uncle, and explained his day. Yashamaru listened understandingly. He nodded, and soothed Gaara when he would come close to tears.

"It's okay," Yashamaru soothed, rubbing Gaara's head. Gaara's day was as awful then any other day he had. Gaara sniffed, and hugged Yashamaru.

Shukaku charged after Gamabunta and Naruto, making Naruto find his balance.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled, their battling creatures weren't far apart. "What kind of father doesn't love his son, just because of a freakish power?"

"That's not it!" He yelled frustrated. "You don't get it! This isn't a power; this is the demon that lives inside of me!" A blow of sand plowed the earth, close to Naruto and Gamabunta.

"You can't get through to him," Gamabunta said sadly.

"He won't listen," Naruto said, pacing on the toad's head. "What will make him listen?"

_Leave me alone!…_ Gaara stared hard at the sky, looking for more kunai. He had been day dreaming on the roof of his house, looking at the stars. Two uninviting kunai had zipped through the air, aimed at him. He panted as he looked for more, but none came. Who could had it been?

_Love…_ _Yashamaru taught it to me, it was something strange but wonderful I learned. He taught me many things with emotional and physical pain. I thought he loved me, and cared! I was wrong, what did I do to make him hate me like my father, and everyone else in the city…_

Naruto jumped forward, trying to land on the terrifying beast, to get closer to Gaara. He was going to fight and talk to him. He almost landed on the head of the monster, when a stream of thick rushing sand, whipped him back onto Gamabunta's head.

"I don't think he wants to talk," Gamabunta suggested.

"Shut up," Naruto murmured, and Gamabunta didn't hear him. He felt crushed, and didn't want to move, but stood up anyway. The sand had knocked a little wind out of him. He coughed, and saw the unpleasant sight of blood. He felt it drip out him mouth.

_Love… _Gaara watched Yashamaru disappear in a blow of the wind. His clothes were the only thing left, placed in his last standing place. Gaara screamed, and burst in to painful tears rubbing his head. The horrible permanent mark of LOVE left on his head in kanji.

Yashamaru had told Gaara his father had sent him out to kill him. Not just him, but different assassins. The most painful part was that Yashamaru had taken the mission on willfully. Gaara cried into the sand the cover the outside of their city. He hugged himself, pressing his face into the wet sand.

Naruto attemped to keep talking to Gaara, but he kept holding him back; trying to kill him.

_Dead…_ Gaara walked out of his home, watching the peaceful clouds wisp away, without worry. Inside, his father was dead on the floor, covered in sand…

"Wait until Kankuro and Temari… hear this." Gaara whispered to himself.

Naruto's jacket was unzipped, and he was horribly beaten with sand. He panted, and Gamabunta seemed slower than before.

"Man…" Naruto panted. "He really wants me dead." He ran and flew through the air, ready to land on Shukaku. He hit the head for the first time, and tried to balance on. Gaara stared at him with wide furious eyes, and Naruto got hit with yet another plow of sand.

Naruto shouted in determination, and jumped higher than ever. Shukaku caught him, but Naruto fought this time. He held up his fist, ready to get to Gaara by force.

"Gaara!" He shouted, feeling himself getting through the strength of the sand. "G-Gaara!" Gaara went up to him. They were so close, and Naruto pushed through the power of the sand, and hit heads with Gaara.

"Why do you try so hard?" Gaara asked. They stared at each other hard, angrily and tired. Naruto panted, and saw Gaara just stare.

"Why?" Naruto asked. "Because, I understand."

"Understand?" Gaara asked, fury raising in his voice.

"I understand what it's like!" Naruto shouted. "To have people run away from me and not have a great family." Naruto saw a shift in Gaara's eyes. "But I don't go around killing people, or feeling sorry about myself." Gaara's eyes now had a dangerous shadow lurk in them, and then had a small smile.

"You are so pathetic," he rasped.

"You wanna go though life," Naruto yelled. "Having people running away from you forever?" Gaara made a small gasp that had escape. "At least you've got a brother and sister."

"They hate me!" Gaara exclaimed. Naruto felt the cold sting of blood forming on his forehead.

"You think I'm pathetic?" Naruto asked. "Look at yourself." Gaara roared, and shoved Naruto to the ground. He fell; ready to feel the impact of the hard, death-bringing ground. He instead fell on Gamabunta.

"Get the giant demon he's on!" Naruto demanded.

"Isn't that what we've been trying to do?" Gamabunta asked stubbornly. Gaara charged with Shukaku, and Gamabunta hit in the middle, and it exploded into a giant rain of sand. Naruto slid down the toad to meet Gaara on the ground.

Gaara lied on the ground. Naruto thought he was dead when he first saw him. He looked drenched in sweat, and stared widely at the sky. Naruto fell to the ground in exhaustion, and they lied there, staring at each other.

Naruto let out a small chuckle, and lifted his back off the ground, and moved toward Gaara.

"Get away!" Gaara shouted, and Naruto smiled.

"You're so confused," Naruto chuckled. "You don't get _me_." Gaara was breathing hard of confusion and exhaustion.

"Why do go on," Gaara asked. "You're basically dead."

"The pride," Naruto answered. "That comes from the friendship and rivalry of things and people. They're my family now!" Gaara looked at Naruto, and he saw a realization in his eyes, that made Naruto smile. Someone ran in from the woods, Kankuro and Temari, and Naruto saw Gaara close his eyes.

"Gaara," the girl called. Naruto assumed she was in high school.

"Why did you leave the house?" the boy scolded.

"Oh my," the girl moaned, looking at the two boys. Kankuro picked up the beaten Gaara, and carried him like a pig-back ride. Gaara's eyes were still closed, and they left. Naruto sighed, and happily stared at the clouds. Then he realized, how was he going to get home?

"Kankuro…" Gaara groaned softly. "Temari… I'm sorry." The siblings looked at each other confused. Temari patted his head gently, and they walked home under the silence of the stars.

_I love it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!_


	11. Chapter 11

_This chapter's the shortest of all of them so far, but please enjoy__**. I don't own Naruto!**_

"Naruto," a voice called gently. He felt the heat of the sun burn his face. He lightly opened his eyes groggily. Someone shook him gently, and he stared into the sun. It blinded him, and he turned his head. The person was bent on their knee, and had a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Naruto tried to sit up, and was shot down with pain in his head. He gasped at the sudden pain, and closed his eyes.

"Ahh," Naruto groaned weakly. He felt a thick wall of saliva build up in his mouth. He swallowed painfully, and blankly looked around. "Where am I?"

"I found you here," the voice said. "This place looks a mess!" Naruto saw a boarder line of trees and remember what had happened last. He had been fighting Gaara, and he was rescued by two people, and was left there. He blinked, and looked at the person beside him.

"Mr. Umino," Naruto moaned weakly, and groaned grabbing his stomach.

"Shh," He hushed quietly. "Wanna go home?" Naruto nodded, and felt Iruka lift him up onto his back. He leaned into his back, and fell asleep. When he woke up, he was placed against one of the tree by the harbor; neighboring the "forest."

"I can go from here," Naruto said slowly. Iruka helped him up, and Naruto walked to the apartment slowly. When he walked into his apartment, he walked to his calendar and etched in another day gone until his birthday. He went to his sofa, and fell instantly into sleep.

Four days past by slowly, and finally October 10th arrived; Naruto Uzumaki's Birthday! He walked to the store, with a tight orange jacket, and a blue scarf. He found the cheapest chocolate cake he could find, and bought it as a present to himself. He got to the apartment, mail in one hand, and his keys and cake in the other. He walked in, placed the cake on the table, and flew through the letters that piled in the mail.

Advertisements and the newspaper were all that made up of the pile. He flipped through the paper, and stopped on a tiny article. A man had escaped the Oto City prison, which was odd because their prison had tight security; many criminals lived there. He read a short article on the man; he was a murderer, robber, and had undercover men working for him from the same city.

He carelessly flipped the page, not knowing the pale murderous man was going to change him, his life, and his friends forever.

There was a knock at the door. Naruto jumped up, and cautiously opened it. Hinata waved back through the crack of the door, hiding something behind her back.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto smiled, greeting her inside. She nervously looked around, and held out her present. It was wrapped neatly, and Naruto thanked her. He closed the door, looked at the present, and ripped it open.

It was a hand-made necklace, with beads of blue, white, and grey. He placed it on his bedside table and left the room for some cake.

Sakura was on a stroll, having nothing better to do, when she ran into Hinata. She was briskly walking home, and Sakura waved. She looked up, and walked faster. Sakura had to ask where she was going.

"Hey… Hinata, right?" Sakura asked. Hinata stopped and played with a stray length of hair. "Where are you going?"

"Um… home," she replied quickly. Hinata tried to keep walking, but Sakura stopped her.

"Where were you just now?" Sakura saw Hinata blush and realized she was being a little nosy. She was surprised when Hinata replied, "N-Naruto's apartment." She pointed behind her.

"Oh?"

"It's his birthday today," Hinata informed boldly.

"Oh!" Hinata walked away, but Sakura stayed behind. She put a finger on her lip thoughtfully. 'It's Naruto's birthday? Maybe it'd be nice to get him a little something.' She smiled and nodded. 'Like a flower from the Yamanaka Flower Shop.' She walked to her friend's store.

Ino straightened when Sasuke walked down the street. She watched him, and gasped when she saw him stop. Why did he stop? Maybe he was coming in, Ino thought. She giggled, and played with one of the flowers on the counter busily. She looked up to check on him and realized he was talking to Sakura!

"I'm going to Ino's parent's shop." Sakura answered after Sasuke had asked where she was going.

"I've never been," Sasuke admitted. "Ino helps out?" He asked unbelievingly.

"Yeah," Sakura said, looking at the street. "What are you doing out?" Sasuke shrugged, and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Anyway, I'll see you later," He said, and walked off. Sakura walked into the store slowly, waiting until she couldn't see him anymore. She bumped into someone, turned around, about to apologize when she realized she bumped into Ino.

"You scared me half to death, Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, clamping her heart. Ino was wearing a green apron, and holding a set of flowers she was putting in the window, and she didn't look happy. "What's wrong?"

"I saw you talking to Sasuke." She sneered.

"What's the big deal?" Sakura asked, with a tone she had never used before. "You talk to him all the time, and I don't get angry with you." Ino was in angry silence for a while, arranging the flowers around. Sakura looked around the store, knowing she didn't have to find great ones for Naruto.

When Sakura picked out a pink flourishing flower, with many petals, Ino was at the counter, picking petals off one of the flowers, looking pouty. Sakura stood at the counter, and Ino ignored her.

"Hello!" Sakura finally shouted, shaking the flowers in her friend's face. Ino scrunched her nose, and threw the rest of the stalk of the flower at Sakura. She snatched the couple pink flowers, rung them up on the cash register, and shoved them into Sakura arms.

"$4.00" Ino said, holding out her hand grumpily, waiting for the cash.

"But it says $2.30 on the cash-"

"4 dollars, Sakura!" Ino shouted, pushing out her hand farther. Sakura dug into her pocket and gave her a five dollar bill. "Thank you, and come again." Ino said with a huge fake smile on her face, and it quickly disappeared when she went to picking another flower.

"I want my change,"

"Get it yourself," Ino demanded moodily. "Oh, and give my best to Sasuke please."

"What?"

"Aren't those flowers for Sasuke?"

"No, actually Ino, they're not for him," Sakura snapped, and turned to the door. "And I'm not coming again!" And slammed the door, to where the bell on the top snapped, and rung abruptly. Asuma walked in next, and Ino quietly cried behind the counter.

Naruto happily ate cake, licking every smudge of chocolate frosting he could find on his fork. Someone knocked on the door; he got up, and answered it.

"Sakura?"

"H-Happy Birthday!" She said a little louder than intended, holding out her bunch of flowers.

"Thanks," Naruto thanked slowly. "How did you know it was my… my birthday?"

"Um," Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear. "Hinata told me." Naruto nodded, looked at the flowers, and smiled.

"Want to come in?"

"Actually, I can't," Sakura said abruptly, holding her hands behind her back. Naruto frowned.

"Come on," He insisted. "Don't you want some cake?" Sakura sighed, sucking her lip for will-power.

"Alright," she gave in. "But just one…" Sakura ate quickly and neatly, as Naruto put the beat up flowers in a vase on the table.

"They're really pretty, Sakura," Naruto said, looking at how the glass reflected their green stems."Where did you get them?"

"The Yamanaka Flower Shop, a few blocks away from here," Sakura informed between bites. Naruto nodded, and watched Sakura's slice of cake disappear as she ate it.

"Eh… Ino works there, right?" Naruto asked curiously. Sakura choked, and spit out a little chunk of cake.

"Uh, yeah. Ino works there."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you choke…"

"It's fine, Naruto." They sat in silence and Sakura got up. "I'm full, but I'll take the rest of it home, okay? It's really good."

"I got it at the market."

"Oh," She got up, wrapped the cake in the paper towel, opened the door, and stood there looking halfway back, halfway forwards.

"Ah, Naruto," she finally said. "Maybe we can…" She sighed. "Hang out more at school, you know?" Naruto's heart leapt, and did a dance. He kept his cool, and smiled.

"Sure," And she left.

"What!" Naruto exclaimed, the next day at school. He was in room 204, Kakashi's classroom, with Jiraiya. "You want me to get myself expelled?" Jiraiya nodded, crossing his arms, leaning back in a chair.

"I know that's not much trouble for you." Jiraiya said frowning. Naruto laughed.

"This is great!" Then he felt a tiny pain in his heart. He'd be leaving behind his two weekly periods with Sasuke and Kakashi. He'd leave Hinata, and most importantly Sakura. He stopped laughing, looked down.

"I'll do it," he vowed, suddenly serious.

"You know after you'll need to train harder than ever." Jiraiya reminded.

"I know," Naruto groaned. Sasuke walked in late, and stared at them.

"What are you two doing?"

"Waiting for you," Jiraiya said, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Naruto had his mouth open, ready to throw out an excuse, before Jiraiya had. He stayed there, and Sasuke realized after a while.

"Problem?" He asked annoyed.

"Nothin'" Kakashi walked in, and Sasuke had a short phase of mouth-open-face. He quickly returned to himself, and grunted.

"Nice of you to come by, Kakashi," Sasuke taunted.

"You're finally back!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi nodded, and looked at Jiraiya.

"I'll take Naruto today," Jiraiya insisted. Kakashi nodded again.

"Come on, Sasuke," Sasuke followed Kakashi outside.

"Are we going outside?" Naruto asked Jiraiya, who nodded.

"Later," Jiraiya answered. Naruto huffed, and slouched in his seat.

"Why?"

"'Cause we're gonna talk about a new jutsu!" Jiraiya said enthusiastically. Naruto whined, his back was on the seat of the chair now, from slouching so much.

"What's this new jutsu?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"It's called Rasengan," Jiraiya said, standing up from the desk, and walking to the board.

_Please review… maybe you could give me ideas for how Naruto could get expelled. _


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay, here's chapter 12… (sorry again for the people who read it before there was an A/N) By the way, check out my profile every once in a while. I have other Naruto fanfictions you might like__**. I don't own Naruto!**_

"Can we have Naruto Uzumaki to the office for a minute?" The lady asked politely over the intercom. Jiraiya sighed, Naruto shrugged.

"Sure," Jiraiya answered, looking at all the notes he had written on the board. The lady hung-up with a clack, and Naruto jumped up from his chair. He walked down the hallway briskly, having all the notes Jiraiya had thrown out at him knock against his head as he walked.

Jiraiya had said the jutsu, Rasengan, was originated by Minato Namikaze. Naruto shrugged at the name. Why did that name sound familiar? He shuffled the thought away and thought about the difficulties of the Rasengan. He opened the door to the office, and sat in the chair, as though an instinct.

He flipped his fingers nervously, looking at the ground. The office smelled too familiar, and too many familiar faces lazily sat behind the counter where the volunteers sat. They talked quietly among each other, and one walked out with a teenager boy.

He wore sneakers, torn jeans, a tinted violet vest and a snowy white shirt underneath. He smiled at Naruto coyly, and wore his light hair in a stylish pony-tail. His hands were stuffed into his pockets as the office volunteer introduced him.

"He's from the high school, Naruto," the lady explained happily. Naruto stared at the boy instead of the lady.

"Hello," He said kindly. "I'm Kabuto." He held out a hand. As Naruto shook it, he felt a professional feel to Kabuto.

"Hi," Naruto said hesitantly.

"I'm going to be tutoring you for a while," he informed. "I hope you don't mind."

"No," Naruto threw out. "Ms. Yuhi was saying how she was going to get me a tutor." Naruto remembered this happening a couple months ago. He flinched at the thought of her.

"Kabuto is one of the best students of his class," the lady explained. "He joined a program where he's going to help a couple other students too." Naruto nodded. A twitched as he thought of the secret plan Jiraiya had talked about; expelling Naruto. He was sent back to class after his brief meeting with Kabuto. He was going to have to stay after school a few evenings a week for tutoring.

Naruto got back to class, unnoticed by Jiraiya. He was behind the computer giggling. Naruto sighed, annoyed, and sat in his chair nosily.

"Are you looking at-"

"Oh, you're back!" Jiraiya exclaimed, blushing softly. Naruto's shoulders slouched over, sighing.

"Yeah, now what about this Rasangoon?"

"Rasengan," Jiraiya corrected.

"Right," Naruto said lowly, crossing his arms.

Sasuke was panting, sweat streaking down his face. He wiped it off, and looked at Kakashi for silent approval. He had re-climbed the tree he had been running up for a while. Kakashi nodded, and smiled at Sasuke.

"Ready to learn a new jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"I probably already know it," Sasuke complained.

"I bet you my pay-check you don't."

"Your pay-check; for real? Sasuke asked, in slight disbelief. Kakashi nodded.

"My pay-check," Sasuke grunted, and was ready to have a hand full of pay-check. "It's called Chidori." Sasuke waited, but that's all that came from Kakashi. "Ever heard of it?" Sasuke shifted his feet, and grunted.

"No," he admitted quietly. Kakashi nodded.

"Good," Kakashi said quickly. "because I don't get a pay-check." Sasuke chuckled.

"So what is Chidori?"

"You don't remember seeing it?" Kakashi asked, playing with him.

"I've never seen Chidori," Sasuke said shortly. He didn't like not knowing this.

"I used it the day you two asked me to show you a jutsu. Remember it now?" Sasuke nodded. "Pretty impressive, right?" Sasuke shrugged. "I made up that jutsu." Sasuke kept staring. "Have you ever used Sharingan?" Sasuke shortly gasped, stepping back, and re-straightened.

"Um, a couple times," Sasuke said numbly. "Why?"

"This jutsu really helps with it at hand." Kakashi explained.

"You don't have the Sharingan," Sasuke snapped. "How would you know?" Kakashi ran his hand through his thick bangs that had always covered his left eye since Sasuke had met him. As Kakashi pushed his bangs behind his ear, he revealed he also had the legendary Sharingan.

"That sound's almost impossible," Naruto moaned, on the floor cross legged from the excitement; the chair wasn't able to hold him in place.

"It's not," Jiraiya emphasized. "I could demonstrate." Naruto's eyes jumped with body.

"Show me!" Naruto exclaimed, twisting his hands raw. Jiraiya held up his hand, spacing his fingers, and tensing his hand. Naruto was shocked as Jiraiya had an intense, swirling sphere of energy, Naruto guessed. The core of the ball was glowing, and around the sphere were waves of chakra bouncing off. The word that came to Naruto's head was awesome.

Jiraiya closed his hand swiftly, and smiled at Naruto.

"Now, that's a Rasengan," Jiraiya bragged.

"That was amazing!" Naruto cheered as Jiraiya nodded.

"It takes tons of practice," Jiraiya reminded him.

"That's why I'm getting myself expelled, remember?" Naruto said. He ignored the painful reminder of leaving his friends behind.

Sakura walked down the hallway, getting shot with furious stares from Ino's friends. They were rummaging through their lockers, as Sakura rubbed the back of her neck; someone had shot her with a silly-band. If looks could kill, Sakura would have been vaporized a long time ago.

She opened her locker, and threw off a note someone had stuck on it. Hinata came up to her, and fiddled with her fingers mumbling.

"I- um… I'm sorry about… you know, ah…." Hinata stammered.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked shortly.

"That, well, about your friend," she said, looking in Sakura's locker.

"You don't have to apologize," Sakura said flatly, feeling something turn in her stomach. "You didn't make it happen."

"I- I know," Hinata started walking. "Bye!" Sakura sighed, and laid her head in her locker, and cried for a couple of short minutes. Then she straightened up, looked at the mirror she had set up, and smiled at herself; she had a game plan.

Naruto went home that day, eager to start learning the Rasengan, but Jiraiya had told him he had to get expelled first to learn it. The quicker he did, the quicker he could start training. He didn't bother doing homework; he hopefully wasn't staying at school much longer. He instead started brainstorming about how to get himself expelled.

He thought about making a plan with Sasuke, but then he remembered he didn't want Sasuke to know. The possibilities were endless, but then again they were also too petty or too dangerous. He sighed when nothing came to mind fast enough. He looked at his foot stained wall, and smacked his forehead.

He could include Shadow Clone jutsu in it, what was going to break him out of school. He had been brainstorming in front of the T.V., but was interrupted when a startling change in the screen came up.

At the bottom of the channel, Naruto was surprised to find that the station was local. There was a notice that a prisoner from the Oto City prison was in the largely populated Konoha City. A chill ran down his spine; this was the person he had read about in the paper, he was in the same city at the moment. Was the city Naruto lived in, Konoha City, in danger?

Sakura had snuck out her home with a wad of her allowance at hand. Her parents hadn't known of her game plan, but they would eventually. She was heading to the shoes stores, Aeropostle, American Eagle, and anywhere else they sold popular designer clothes. She was going into the competition of popularity, knowing that Ino wasn't going to be at her side for the first time ever.

She walked into the stores bought shoes, jackets, shirts, pants, skirts, scarves, socks, gloves, and jewelry. Her allowance she had saved up for college had just been put to the test. She walked out the stores, bag-full, thinking, 'Look out Konoha City, here comes the _new_ Sakura Haruno!'

She wasn't just changing her looks, but her attitude, and lifestyle. Ino now had competition like no other.

The next day, Naruto eyed the girl who was in Sakura's seat. As he looked closer he realized it _was_ Sakura! She was wearing heavy make-up, new shoes, a tighter shirt, and a shorter skirt. Not to short though, Naruto noted. That wasn't Sakura's style; actually the whole outfit wasn't Sakura! Naruto raised a concerned eyebrow, and Sakura looked his way.

Her mascara was a little much, and Naruto blink, as if to blink and see the normal Sakura.

"What's with the… change?" Naruto asked her in a whisper.

"I decided it was time to change." Sakura said boldly. Naruto gulped, and turned back to Iruka.

Girls laughed at Sakura through out the day, calling her a clown, but Sakura kept her head up and ignored them. She was waiting for the real player; Ino. But she never came in her path.

Naruto was sitting in the empty cafeteria, not including the duty teacher. She impatiently checked her watch, as they waited for Kabuto. He jogged in, and smiled, embarrassment painted all over his face. He apologized to the teacher, who huffed and walked to her car.

"We can work here," Kabuto suggested, gesturing the cafeteria.

"Sure," Naruto agreed. He took out his math supplies, and set it up on the table. "I don't get integers." Naruto threw out flatly and quickly.

"Oh, integers?" Kabuto restated sitting across from Naruto. "Adding or what?"

"All of it," Naruto stated. Kabuto explained adding, subtraction, multiplying, and dividing integers like summer, fall, winter, and spring. It clicked with Naruto as easily as blinking and breathing. Kabuto had made it simple. They got side tracked sometimes, and they discussed other things.

"I just turned 13," Naruto said.

"Did you?" Kabuto asked halfheartedly, writing down the next problem for them to solve.

"How old are you?" Naruto asked, watching the pencil move frantically.

"Nineteen," Kabuto said, pushing the notebook toward Naruto.

"Shouldn't you have graduated from high school already?" Naruto quizzed, spinning the notebook to face him.

"I'm one of the oldest," Kabuto explained. "Meaning I'm also one of the most mature." Naruto nodded, and studied the problem, and smiled to himself. He'd be leaving this behind too when he got expelled.

Sasuke threw stones into the lake, near the harbor. He stared at the setting sun, which made the water luster. He sat down, and pondered. How was he feeling? He crossed his arms, arranging his feelings and thoughts; something his mother use to tell him to do.

Was he angry, frustrated, confused, or upset? He nodded when he decided he was all those things. How could have Kakashi had Sharingan, when he wasn't an Uchiha? Sasuke laid on his back, and watched the thickening clouds build up.

'He's a fake,' Sasuke thought angrily. 'Fraud.' He tore up the grass under his hands, and let it fall from his fingers. Maybe after some training, those threads of grass would become lighting racing between his fingers.

Sasuke heard thunder off in the distance, and sat up when drops of rain started running down his face.

He walked to the deserted part of town that his family used to populate, while the rain cried on top of him. The trees got thicker, and the path got darker. He reached the quiet arrangement of buildings that he had called home since he could remember.

That next day at school, Naruto had a plan. During their lunch break, he'd use four shadow clones, and have them use his very own jutsu; Sexy Jutsu. When he stood in line for food, he felt like he was going to pee in his pants for sure. He wiggled around, and finally had his hands on a tray. He wasn't eating out of a lunch bag, or outside, so everyone could see what devious plot he had up his sleeve.

He sat down, and went to the bathroom. He made four shadow clones, equaling up to five of them in one stall. They pushed each other to the side trying to make one room for one another. He discussed the plan, and they walked out one at a time. Naruto climbed up on the table, attracting everyone's attention. He didn't wait for the shadow clones to follow his lead, and made hand signs, and shouted-

"Transformation!"

_A lot of my friends hated me because I ended it right here. Hope you hate me too! That means you like my fanfiction…_


	13. Chapter 13

_Here's a new chapter… hope you enjoy it. I do… but you have to be lenient with a couple things. __**I don't own Naruto! **_

People looked from all sides of the cafeteria. Naruto made the best model pose he could think of as he stood on a table, showing off his newly transformed body. He saw sparkly, wispy clouds clear out as he had transformed into a beautiful girl.

Girls screamed, pointed, or just stared in disbelief. He heard the echo of other Shadow Clones copying his move, as boys laughed, or was in shock. One of the duty teachers started coming after him, and just in time too; the clouds were thinning out and he'd soon reveal what was behind them.

He returned to his normal self, and jumped over people's heads to escape. He ran, arms swinging, and stride wide, as other Shadow Clones ran after him, and toppling kids over. He felt as though time slowed down when he ran past Sasuke, and they exchanged glances; Sasuke was staring with hatred and disrespect. Naruto focused in front of him after time returned back to normal; or faster.

He kept running until he turned a corner to catch his breath. He leaned against the building, and slid his back down the wall. He closed his eyes, wondering if that was enough to get expelled. He listened for footsteps, but none came. The bell rang, and he heard kids walking back and forth past the building. He watched them pass until the tardy bell rang.

What should he do now? He couldn't walk home, or go to class. Or could he? His thoughts stopped when the intercom came on.

"Naruto Uzumaki come to the office immediately." A lady announced impatiently over the intercom. He slouched over, recognizing the voice; the principal, Ms. Senju. He sighed and decided this was the ticket out of school and into training sessions. When he walked in, he heard voices rose from a room deeper in the office. Naruto boldly walked up to the counter, where a lady smiled at him.

"Um… I was called here," Naruto informed. The lady's smile stricken and she motioned him to sit down. He plopped in the same seat he had sat in the day he had met Kabuto. Tsunade came storming into the room and looked straight at Naruto. He gulped, and he choked when Jiraiya came following behind her.

"Tsunade-" Jiraiya started talking.

"Shut up!" she boomed demandingly. He had his mouth opened, and he looked at her vacantly. "Naruto, step into my office." She commanded, forcing politeness in her voice; so much it made Naruto want to run away, which was written all over Jiraiya's face.

Naruto walked into her office that reminded him of being sent there on the day Gaara had hurt a kid at school. He pressed himself on the wall, and made room for Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"You preformed a jutsu during lunch?" Tsunade asked breathlessly.

"Yes," Naruto said nodding.

"I-" Jiraiya started talking again, and Tsunade hit him in the face over the mouth.

"Did _he_ teach it to you?" She asked, pointing to Jiraiya.

"No," Naruto said, pushing himself off the wall, and standing on his own weight again. "I made it up myself, actually."

"Has he-" Tsunade started talking this time, but stopped when Jiraiya gripped his thick hand on her tiny wrist. "What?" she spat impatiently.

"If anything," Jiraiya spoke up. "Let him explain his side of the story."

"What story?" Naruto asked.

"This plan that he had," Tsunade explained quickly. "About getting yourself expelled." Naruto stared at Jiraiya hard, showing him he wanted to punch his gut right now.

"We… ah" He looked at Jiraiya for any hints. With his free hand he was sawing his neck. "I did it to impress everyone." Tsunade flashed a look at Jiraiya, and looked at Naruto for any hints. He stared at her with innocent eyes.

"Let go of me!" Tsunade demanded, ripping her hand away from Jiraiya's grip. "I'll cut you some slack, Naruto." She said softly, her face glistening with angry sweat. "I'll give you a suspension."

"No!" Naruto and Jiraiya exclaimed at the same time. She stared at them with confused looks.

"I think you should… expel him!" Jiraiya offered. She shook her head, and ignored him like a fly.

"In-school suspension," she declared. Naruto gasped, and coughed; hoping she wouldn't have noticed the gasp escape. "Take this as a warning, Naruto." She insisted.

"I…" Naruto's words were escaping him. He thought he was in the box, being stamped, and ready for sending into Expelling World. He shook his head, rummaging around for ideas on how to expel himself at the very moment. Something would work… anything would work!

Without talking himself out of it, he made a shadow clone, who pinned Tsunade to the wall, as Naruto ran to her desk. There was bound to be something on it to break or anything to get him in deeper trouble. Before he could reach the desk, he heard the sound of the shadow clone being summoned away and a huge thud.

"Quick, Naruto!" Jiraiya encouraged, straining. "Hurry!" Naruto looked back, and saw him pinning Tsunade to the wall, but she was holding her end of the fight. He went to her desk, toppled over her laptop, papers, and took her coffee, and spilled it on her pictures.

"No!" Tsunade shrieked, and shoved Jiraiya to the side, who slide down the wall. He looked half conscious. Tsunade was about to reach Naruto when she slowed down. They stared at each other, Naruto trying to hold a strong stare. Tsunade looked wide eyed, upset and possessed. She slowly walked to her desk, and picked up the soggy pictures, dripping in coffee.

Naruto tried to look over her shoulder, and saw the two pictures she was holding was one of a boy a few years younger than himself, and one about Kabuto's age. She placed them down, and looked at Naruto blankly. Naruto gulped, and started walking backwards.

"You are worse than expelled," Tsunade murmured. Jiraiya groaned as he got up, and started walking like a zombie towards Naruto.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya spoke. "Calm down. He did it for a reason that's my fault." Jiraiya placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto started shaking.

"You told him to get into all this trouble?" she asked him slowly with a lot of breaths in between.

"Yes,"

"Why!" she shouted, and closed her eyes. Her hands were dripping with coffee.

"I won't let him take the full blame!" Naruto blurted, and clenched his hands into fist. "He's going to train me! I'm going to get stronger, and prove myself to everyone!"

"That's… "Tsunade breathed heavily, and Naruto caved into Jiraiya, wishing he wouldn't have spoken, but didn't have a huge span of regret. "That's such a stupid impossible dream!"

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, and stepped out of Jiraiya's touch. "How can you say stuff like that?" Naruto breathed heavily now with aggravation and anger.

"You're just a child!" Tsunade shouted, boring into Naruto's eyes. "You're naïve and don't know anything… one day you'll let your dream over come you, and that will take your life." She had softened towards the end, stroking the thinning edges of the soggy pictures. Naruto's patients busted, and tumbled down, like water that had escaped a broken dam. The water erupted down, just like Naruto emotions.

"Don't make me sick," Naruto exclaimed, dangerously stepping closer. He growled with frustration. "You- me – outside, Ms. Senju!" Tsunade's face twisted, and she smiled deviously. Jiraiya reached forward, and grabbed Naruto inward.

"Bad move." Jiraiya advised. Tsunade brushed past them, clenching the door knob.

"Since you're not coming to this school anymore," Tsunade heaved. "Call me Tsunade." She slammed the door shut. Naruto and Jiraiya just stood still, not moving.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya asked unsure of how he felt.

"That… was…" Naruto breathed. "Great!" Naruto exclaimed, and spun around to meet with Jiraiya's stare. "Do you think she'll really fight me?"

"Don't," Jiraiya emphasized. "She's a lot more powerful than you think."

"She's a girl," Naruto said, smiling. "How hard can she be?"

"Hard enough to almost kill me," Jiraiya said, grabbing Naruto's shoulders. "I'm telling you- no." Naruto stared at Jiraiya like he was crazy.

"I want to prove myself," Naruto responded strongly. "She thinks my dream is stupid, _impossible_!" Jiraiya searched Naruto's eyes. Everything was sincere. "I want to show her I can do the impossible, I can become strong!" Naruto had no problem staring into Jiraiya's eyes; letting him know he wasn't playing or joking. Jiraiya sighed, gripping Naruto's shoulders hard.

"Come on," Jiraiya sighed, leading Naruto out the door.

Tsunade was outside the school's gate, letting the wind tug at her blonde hair. She was waiting for them, and ready to teach Naruto a lesson. Her eyes softened when she thought of the boys in the pictures.

"Nawaki…" she murmured. "He reminds me so much of you." She wiped away a tear with her long green sleeve.

_Nawaki… _A boy stood outside a mansion, where he lived. His hair waved in the wind, and his face cheerfully watched the sun go down. His older sister, Tsunade, came outside to check on him. She wrapped an arm around him, and smiled.

"Happy Birthday, Nawaki," she wished quietly. He didn't respond, and she looked at him, shaking him. "Nawaki?"

"What?" he asked, and looked at her, the last beams of the sun glistening onto his eyes.

"I was just wishing you happy birthday,"

"Yeah, for the billionth time today,"

"What were you thinking about?"

"The guys at school…" Nawaki make a face. Tsunade felt her heart sting. "I know one day, I'll be as strong as them, and show everyone I can be." Tsunade smiled at him, and stroked his hair. He watched her reach into her pocket, and take out something in her fist.

"Happy Birhtday, for the billionth-and-first time," she smiled, holding out a necklace. He grinned, and took it gently.

"This is Grandpa's necklace!" he realized. "Thanks!" He gripped it, and shoved it to his heart. She reached for his chin, and tilted her head inward. She kissed his forehead softly.

"A charm," she whispered. "To make your dream come true." She backed away and looked at her brothers face. She smiled, and stuck her tongue out.

"Well put it on, silly," Tsunade encouraged. He slipped it over his head, and the last beam from the sun made it sparkle like the most beautiful shard Tsunade had ever seen.

Naruto and Jiraiya walked to the gate, opening it's squeaky door. Tsunade looked up, and rubbed her eyes, and stricken her stare.

"It's about time you two showed up," she snapped. Jiraiya shrugged. He sent Naruto away for a couple seconds.

"Tsunade," he whispered to her. "Take it easy, okay?" She looked at him like she wanted to strangle every breath out of his body. She could if she wanted to. Jiraiya stepped back to go talk Naruto out of it.

"Look," he sighed. Naruto spun around. "You really should rethink this." He advised.

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "And I'm giving it my all!" Jiraiya flinched and looked at the ground.

"Just remember I'll be right here." He reminded.

"Okay," Naruto said, letting it slip over his head. Jiraiya groaned, and watched from the sidelines. Tsunade stood her ground, waiting for Naruto's first move.

"Well, come on," she sneered. Naruto raced towards her, Jiraiya smacking his head, knowing it wasn't going to end well. He raised his fist, and Tsunade raised her finger. Naruto kept running, though he was confused. Why was she holding up her finger? Right before he was about to swing, Tsunade reached out, and struck him with her finger.

He flew backwards, and landed where he started. He landed on his back, and looked for Jiraiya; all he could do was hear him.

"Don't go until you have a plan!" he explained. Naruto jumped up, and made a shadow clone. It raced towards her, but she just kicked it away.

"Well, this is no fun," she yawned. Naruto's anger flared up.

"I didn't say I was that strong yet!" he complained. "I'm going to be strong, and if I wanted I could do it in less than a week!"

"Then do it," Tsunade said calmly.

"What?"

"Become strong in less than a week, say three days, and I'll fight you again." Tsunade challenged. Naruto stared at her, searching her face. She was serious, and taunting him.

"Three days?" Jiraiya asked, in disbelief. "Come on, maybe five days."

"No," Tsunade forced. "If he can become so strong, he can do it in three days."

"Where do I see you in three days?" Naruto asked, accepting the challenge.

"Konoha Park," she ordered. "So that you can prove yourself to everyone."

"Okay!" Naruto exclaimed eager. "Not a problem." Jiraiya groaned.

'These two,' he thought. 'They're such babies…'

"Now I got a school to run," she said, walking back through the gate. "See you in three days."

_If you guys don't know who Nawaki and Dan are you can either read the manga or look it up on n a r u t o . w i k i a . c o m I have to space it out because fanfiction takes it off when I put it together. Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVEW (I'm a begger sometimes.)_


	14. Chapter 14

_Okay, for all you Orochimaru, Shizune and/or Guy fangirls/boys here's their first appearance! I'm none… I'm just being supportive__**. I don't own Naruto**__!_

"Rotation," Jiraiya said, holding out a water balloon.

"Rotation?" Naruto asked, looking at the balloon.

"That's the key to the first step in learning the Rasengan," Jiraiya answered. He picked up Naruto's hand, and placed the balloon in it.

"Ah… what's this for?" Naruto rubbed his head, turning the balloon; listening to the water move inside.

"You use your chakra to move it around," Jiraiya explained, spinning his finger in a circle.

"Yeah, right," Naruto croaked. "Are you insane, that's impossible!"

"Is it?" Jiraiya challenged. Naruto handed him the balloon. Jiraiya held it out. Naruto heard the water move around an intense speed. "Like I said, it's not impossible."

"Okay, okay," Naruto eased. "So say I can some how manage to do this one step _today_, how many more steps are there?"

"Well, three steps. Ironic isn't it?" Jiraiya said, smiling.

"Okay, I can do this," Naruto breathed. He placed the balloon in his palm, felt around for the water's movement, and focused.

While Jiraiya and Naruto were training, Tsunade sat in her office, impatiently thumping her fingers on her desk. Her head lied in her hand, as she waited for the vice principal, Shizune, to arrive. Shizune, black high heeled shoes, black shirt, and tan pans, rushed into Tsunade's office, hands full of papers.

"Yes, Tsunade?" she asked, out of breath. She had obviously stopped what she had been doing and rushed to her boss's office, as commanded.

"Shizune, do you think you can cover for me?" Tsunade asked, flipping a pen from her desk.

"Y-yes, Tsunade," she said. "May I know, for what?"

"I need to do a little errand," Tsunade explained.

"Oink," a little cheeky pink pig came trotting from behind Shizune. She looked down at the pig, like she was sick, and scooted it off to the side with her foot.

"Shizune, you know what I said about that bring that pig to work!" Tsunade exclaimed, getting up from her chair.

"But, he was sick, and-"

"Never mind," Tsunade interrupted, brushing past Shizune. "Just… don't burn down the school."

"Yes, ma'am!" she assured.

"Oink,"

"Oh, man…" Tsunade sighed.

"Stupid… water!" Naruto exclaimed in frustration, and growled. "When ever it starts moving, it STOPS!"

"Don't get discouraged," Jiraiya encouraged, halfheartedly. He held binoculars in his hands.

"Oh, great," Naruto mumbled. "Now, what are you looking at?" He marched over to Jiraiya, oblivious of him, until Naruto snatched the binoculars. Jiraiya reached for them, but Naruto looked into them.

"Oh my gosh!" Naruto exclaimed, readjusting the lens. "You're such a creep!" He spotted a couple girls, sitting by a bench, talking. One thing that was obvious, they had skin tight shirts, and tiny shorts; bikini short.

"It's not what you think I'm doing," Jiraiya insisted nervously. "It's research."

"Oh, it's research alright," Naruto chuckled. "Man, you're such a _creep_!" Jiraiya snatched the lens back. "Hey, that's the perfect name for ya!"

"What?" Jiraiya asked, adjusting the lens.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto exclaimed, picking up the balloon.

"Oh, come on, you can do better than that," Jiraiya whined.

"No way, it's too perfect," Naruto said, refocusing. He closed his eyes, feeling the cold water swish around. He tried shifting his chakra to the balloon. He wanted to feet the balloon heat up of with friction from the water and chakra.

Tsunade walked on the boarder of the village. She hugged her arms and chest, letting her hair flow with the wind. She just needed a break. A nice refreshing break. She sighed when she thought about the challenge. She looked behind her, the interstate rushing with cars, and in front of her, a thick wall of trees.

He walked in, listening to the cracking of leaves under her high heeled feet. She sat down, and closed her eyes.

_Dan…_ Tsunade approached a boy, with long silver hair. He was looking into space. They had just been assigned a mission. People had been hurt badly down in the battle field.

"H-Hey, Dan," she greeted nervously. He nodded with a warm smile.

"We never get a break do we?" he asked sighing.

"No, but it's for the sake of our city, isn't it," Tsunade said. He sighed in agreement.

"Well, I have to do this," Dan said confidently. "If I want to be stronger." Tsunade grabbed his hand, and squeezed it. "I wish I could have been stronger for my sister." He whispered.

"Same here with my brother," Tsunade murmured warmly. Nawaki's face flashed in her head, and she closed her eyes. "He had better head out, before we're left behind."

"Tsunade," Dan said as she started going off.

"What is it?" she asked, brushing back her hair.

"I think… you know, when we're off, we should hang out more," Tsunade's heart soared. She had been waiting to hear that for what felt like her whole life.

"Sure, okay," she agreed, and headed with the team.

She zoomed back to reality. She was alone, no Dan, no Nawaki. Why did they both have to go off? Why did they both have the same dream? She kicked a stray leaf, and watched it drift away, wishing her thoughts would do the same; but they didn't.

_A charm…_ Dan had showed Tsunade his "favorite view of the city." They leaned against each other, and looked over the mayor's office; the tallest building in the city. She snuggled into him, and he chuckled.

"Dan," she said. He turned to her, she reached for the inside of her shirt and pulled out her three beaded necklace. "This is for you."

"Thank you," he smiled. He reached for it, and looked at it through the sun's rays.

"It was my grandfather's," Tsunade explained. "It's one of the most important things to me. It also belonged to my brother."

"And you want me to have it?"

"It'll be your good luck charm, but it's not complete yet," she leaned in, her hand on his chin, and kissed his forehead gently. She pulled back sweetly, and smiled. "A charm… to make your dream come true." He looked at her, at first in great shock, then thankfully.

Tsunade shook her head, letting the memory fly out. She got up, and watched the cars rush by. She turned to hear someone walking on the dry floor of the earth. Descending from the shadows of the trees was someone who was wanted in the city, pale with the color of death, and was sided with an unlikely boy. Tsunade grimaced when she recognized them as Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"What are you doing here in the city?" Tsunade snapped. Orochimaru smiled, and chuckled. "And Kabuto… why are you with him? You were such a good student in junior high, and I hear you're one of the best at the high school."

"He had a lot more to offer than grades," Kabuto stated, his voice serious and lacking friendliness. Tsunade lowered her stare.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"You miss Dan and Nawaki, don't you?" he asked, smiling. His voice was too familiar to Tsunade.

"Shut up," Tsunade snapped. "Why would you care?"

"I always think of my friends,"

"We're not friends anymore, so forget whatever plan you have," she spat.

"How's your job at the junior high?" Orochimaru asked, ignoring her. She sneered.

"Why?" she asked carefully. Orochimaru waited. "Fine…"

"Good to hear," he smiled. "Anything interesting happening there?"

"You're defiantly up to something," she murmured, turning around to leave. Orochimaru, followed by Kabuto, walked in front of her. She stopped, almost ready to push him away. He bit his thumb; Tsunade flinched when she heard the crunching noise. He stared at it amusingly, as Tsunade stepped back.

"Oh that's right," his voice slithering. "You're afraid of blood. How could I have forgotten?" She shivered, and curled up into herself.

"O-Orochimaru," Tsunade cracked. "If you don't leave, I'm going to call the police." She slid her hand into her pocket, feeling her cell phone. Kabuto followed her hand, as Orochimaru rubbed the blood in between his long pale fingers tauntingly.

"How's Jiraiya?" he asked causally.

"I'm going to get out my phone!" Tsunade exclaimed roughly. She pulled it out, unlocking the keys. Kabuto still watched her hand.

"Listen to me," Orochimaru sneered, all business. "I need to know the whereabouts of Konoha Junior High."

"You're a strange one," Tsunade commented, relaxing as she typed in 9. "You want to know about somewhere you went 37 years ago?" She heard the satisfaction of the beep when she hit the button 9 again. Orochimaru sighed, softening.

"I know how to bring back Nawaki and Dan," Orochimaru admitted quietly. Tsunade's face went blank, and soon the screen on her phone did too.

"You…," Tsunade gasped her heart beating.

_ No!..._ "Dan?" Tsunade asked painfully. Rain ran down her face, with the flow of painful tears. Jiraiya stood behind her.

"He's… gone, Tsunade," he said softly. She sat of Dan, covered with his own blood. She stared at her hands. Rain… tears… blood.

"No!" she screamed. Jiraiya stepped down; another fellow ninja from the team followed him. He grabbed her shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry,"

"No," she screamed, shaking Jiraiya's hand off. She dropped onto his body, crying. Jiraiya picked her up by her shoulders, telling her silently there was nothing to do. The rain rustled the tree, resting above Dan, promising his safety.

She returned to the trees of the present. No rain or blood or tears. She stared at her phone. One more button and the police would arrive. Could it be true? Would she be able to see Dan and Nawaki again?

"I should have been straight forward with you," Orochimaru said, still moving the blood around.

"Orochimaru," Tsunade grumble with a serious tone. "I know you what something in return. What is it?"

"Take me to the school," he insisted. She looked at him with a questionable look. He smiled with warmness that made Tsunade worry. "You can think about my offer for a while." She nodded, and placed the back in her pocket.

"I will," she agreed, and walked past them, heading back to the city.

Night fell, and Jiraiya headed home; leaving Naruto to more training. He decided what better place to study rotating water is the harbor? He saw the last peek of the sun fade behind the water. He walked along the thin layer of sand that rested near the water. He shook the water inside the balloon, and sighed.

He heard grunting behind him. He turned to see who it would be. Naruto stood in shock when he saw a man walking on his hands on the sand. He had black, bowl-shaped, thick hair, a green shirt, black jeans, orange socks, and a determined face. He passed Naruto.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, not meaning it to sound rude. The man turned on his hands, and faced him; his arms a little wobbly.

"I'm walking to the edge of the forest and back up the harbor a hundred times." He stated strongly.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I lost a bet," he answered. "To that I'm becoming stronger in a way."

"What bet was it?" Naruto asked, walking along side him.

"I couldn't help but take the offer from my rival," he started in between grunts. "We played a game in which he won. I had promised to go up and down the harbor and forest one hundred times if I lost, and here I am."

"Sounds familiar," Naruto sighed. "I've got my own set of rivals, you know?" He followed the man up the harbor. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Call me Might Guy," he introduced, stopping, and holding out his hands; balancing on one. Naruto got the presence of confidence from this "Might Guy" person.

"Who's this rival of yours?" Naruto asked curiously.

"His name is Kakashi Hatake," Naruto froze, and stared at Guy.

"You're kidding, right?" Naruto asked, close to laughing.

"No…"

The air erupted with Naruto's laughter. "I… can't believe this!" He wiped his eyes, and giggled. "I'm sorry, it's just that he was one of my teachers, and I just couldn't imagine him playing games."

"We've been doing it since grammar school," Guy informed.

"Grammar school?"

"Elementary," Guy said

"That's right," Naruto remembered. "Anyway, I have my own training I need to get to. Nice meeting you Might Guy."

"Enjoy your youth," he said leaving, picking up speed on his hands. Naruto shook his head, and looked at his balloon.

"I can do this," he assured. He raised the balloon, and concentrated. The water moved, like it was part of the waves. The sound of his so-far victory and water of the harbor filled his ears. The water started moving more violently. He kept focusing, not wanting to lose it.

He cheered when the water couldn't go any faster; it was practically jumping in his hands. The water was rotating, to where it was shaking Naruto's hand.

"Step 2, here I come!" He exclaimed.

Tsunade lied in bed, listening to her classic rock playing the back.

"Nawaki," she whispered to herself. "Dan… will I be able to see you again?" She turned on her side, and looked out her window. Stars winked at her, and the tops of buildings were their floor. Was it true? Had Orochimaru found a way to bring them back?

_Sorry Sasuke and Kakashi weren't in it! I'll put them in the next chapter…btw check out my Halloween Naruto fanfic on my profile!_


	15. Chapter 15

_Welcome back peoples! Sorry about all the type-o's in the last chapter! It was embarrassing. This bit of information might be interesting. I'm writing this right after I finished chapter 14. So it's more like a continuation to not make the chapter too long__**. I don't own NARUTO!**_

"Why isn't Naruto at school anymore?" Hinata asked Sakura at lunch the next day.

"You didn't see his little stunt the other day?" Sakura asked crankily. "He was expelled." Hinata nodded, and followed her. Sakura's grade in English had dropped lower. She liked to tell herself it wasn't because of the pressure of Ino and company, but deep down she knew it was. Ino was playing with her like a doll. She even felt like one; dress in heavy make-up and new clothes. Her parents were upset with her recent attitude. Everything was drastically dropping South Pole.

"Loser!" Ino's group called, holding up L's on their foreheads.

"Shut up!" she answered back.

Naruto represented his balloon rotation to Jiraiya. To his amazement it popped in his hand, and a river ran through his fingers. Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm glad we're making progress so quickly." He smiled, taking out a rubber ball. "Now, time for something denser."

"What's the key word now?" Naruto asked, bouncing it. He was used to the words now.

"Power,"

"Okay, so I'm training for power now." Naruto caught the ball, looked to the harbor, remembering his meeting with Guy. Jiraiya redirected his attention with another rubber ball. Jiraiya held it out for Naruto to see, and in the next couple seconds it slowly lost air.

"Easy enough?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah…" Naruto said, looking at the cloud pattern on the ball.

Sasuke sat in class, willing the bell to ring. The sooner school was out, the sooner he was home; most importantly away from everyone.

"Can we have Sasuke Uchiha to the office for a moment?" A lady asked over the intercom. Sasuke got up, and left before his teacher told him it was okay. He went to the office, where Kakashi had been waiting for him. Sasuke casted his stare away; he had lost some respect for him during their last meeting. They went outside, with the trained-on tree, and hidden kunai's behind it.

"I'll be taking you out of classes more often since I'm teaching you this new jutsu," Kakashi explained.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Sasuke snapped.

"Isn't this better than class?" Kakashi asked calmly. Sasuke looked at his tree. He knew under Kakashi's bangs was the Sharingan.

"It's Chidori isn't it, the jutsu?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered. "Sasuke, is something wrong?" Sasuke casted a quick glance, and shook his head.

"Let's get this started," Sasuke ordered. He willed his Sharingan off as he readied his chakra as Kakashi had showed him last session. "I've got my chakra flowing." Sasuke said, half joking. He realized he had, and blinked angrily.

Naruto, meanwhile, was holding a rubber ball in his hand, squeezing it. He was pushing the air onto his face.

"Stop goofing off," Jiraiya demanded. Naruto groaned and concentrated. The air was harder because it was thinner, making it harder to find, and the rubber made it hard to import chakra to the inside of the ball.

"I can't master this in three days!" Naruto complained, throwing the ball down. It bounced toward Jiraiya, who caught it, and threw it back.

"Don't give up now," he encouraged. "You want to prove to Tsunade you're strong don't you?"

"She's a pain in my butt," Naruto assured.

"And she won't be once you're finished."

"Pervy Sage, how do you know Ms. Sen- I mean Tsunade?"

"We were students there together,"

"That's weird,"

"Get back to work,"

"She doesn't look as old as you," Naruto pushed on.

"That's because she uses a jutsu that makes her look younger," Jiraiya explained. "And she's a lot tougher than she looks."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto shooed him off, and 'Got back to work.'

Sasuke felt the power of the Chidori run through his fingers, as he ran towards the tree Kakashi had directed him to. He cut through the tree, which toppled over, and it landed with a huge boom. He looked at his hand. It was shaking. He closed it, like it would somehow keep in all that power that was once in his hand. Kakashi nodded.

"Great for you first try," he approved. Sasuke grunted and placed his hands in his pockets, not wanting Kakashi to see his hands shaking.

"Won't someone notice the tree?" Sasuke asked, looking at it. Kakashi shrugged.

"Let's see how many you can create in a day," Kakashi advised.

Naruto threw the ball at Jiraiya's head, as he was dozing off under a tree.

"Pervy Sage, wake up," Naruto whined. "I need your support."

"What support?" Jiraiya asked, dazed.

"Just stay awake!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing the ball harder at his head. Jiraiya got up, and looked at him with a serious stare.

"Stop throwing the ball at my head," he commanded. Naruto pouted, and looked at the ball. He got a stick, and drew in the dirt a swirl.

"My chakra's supposed to move the air in a swirl, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Jiraiya answered, half awake. Naruto nodded, and focused, closing his eyes. He held the ball in both hands, and focused on swirling wind. It moved into the ball with a force Naruto focused on. He opened his eyes, and felt the ball shaking gently. Progress was underway.

Sasuke also had progress at his hand. He panted; sweat streaked his face as he crumpled his hands into fists. He had emitted another Chidori, but felt like he was about to collapse. He sat down, and felt a little energy go away, realizing he had let the Sharingan release.

"I think two's enough for one day," Kakashi said. "I don't think you have enough chakra for a third anyway." Sasuke closed his eyes.

"No… I can do it again," he insisted, trying to get up, but fell. Kakashi helped him up, and shook his head.

"We can try again tomorrow, but that's enough for you," Kakashi said. With that, he sent him back to class.

The rest of the day, Naruto went on and off with training. The sun sank behind the water, and Naruto headed for the apartment building, when he realized that Jiraiya hadn't gone home.

"Naruto," he said. He turned around, and nodded.

"What?"

"Could I stay at your place?"

"No,"

"Just tonight," Jiraiya pleaded.

"Why?" Naruto wondered.

"It's getting dark, and… I'm just so tired," Jiraiya explained, but never looked at Naruto. He grunted.

"Fine," he groaned. "You're sleeping on the couch." Jiraiya nodded, and headed in with Naruto.

"What's for dinner?" he asked, as he stepped into Naruto's apartment.

"Either cereal or instant ramen, your choice," Naruto answered, opening the fridge, and cracked open a Coke.

"What else you got?" Jiraiya asked, sitting at the table, which still had Naruto's old birthday cake.

"Um… stale pop-tarts,"

"You're kidding," Jiraiya complained.

"Oh, shut up," Naruto moaned, sipping his Coke. Jiraiya got up and searched his tiny closet of a pantry.

"You're right, there's only ramen and cereal. Why don't you stock up?"

"Does it look like I have a job?" Naruto asked crankily, starting to regret his hospitality. Jiraiya shrugged and ate two packs of pop-tarts. Afterwards, he walked to the T.V. and clicked it on. "Nothing's ever on." Naruto informed, opening the cake. Jiraiya turned on a channel Naruto never visited or ever would; Hallmark.

"You watch the Hallmark channel?" Naruto asked.

"They have a lot of romance on it," Jiraiya explained, sitting on the couch. Naruto walked over, and sat in front of the T.V. After ten minutes, he got up, and turned off the television.

"Why did you do that?" Jiraiya demanded, flipping it back on.

"This is stupid stay-at-home-mom trash," Naruto complained.

"So?"

"You don't look like a stay-at-home-mom to me. Let alone a female."

"What do you watch?" Jiraiya asked.

"Not this," Naruto countered. "And like I said, nothing's ever on."

"You don't watch Disney Channel, or Nickelodeon, or Cartoon Network, or anything like that?" Jiraiya asked.

"No way," Naruto exclaimed. "Maybe an occasional Cartoon Network, but other than that, nothing good is worth watching." Jiraiya nodded, and kept watching the sickening romance movie on Hallmark.

Naruto went to his room, and practiced moving the air in the rubber ball. He held it in his hands, closed his eyes, and used the same tactic as earlier. The air was definitely moving around, but not fast enough; not strong enough. He held his breath, making his lungs feel like they were about to pop out, and he concentrated everything onto moving the air around. He felt the ball shake a little in his hands and felt strength come from his stomach. Something was pushing him along, something stronger from within.

He finally got the air moving around to where it was hard to hold. He proudly stared at it, and brought it to Jiraiya.

"I did it," Naruto sighed. "The 2nd step. Only 1 more to go!" The rubber felt thinner, and he smiled when he saw it deflating.

"I told you, you can do it," Jiraiya said, holding a thumbs-up. Naruto yawned, and plopped on the floor.

"I'm pooped," Naruto yawned slightly.

Tsunade was dressed up, and ready to go to a night club. She did this on the weekends, but she told herself she needed a break. She had called up Shizune, asking her if she wanted to go. Of course, she didn't agree and tried to talk Tsunade out of it. However, Tsunade was leaving the house anyway, heading for the car.

The red car shined in the city lights as she pulled up in the parking lot. The breeze was chilly, and Tsunade was glad to have a fuzzy fur coat on.

At Naruto's apartment, Jiraiya's cell phone went off. Naruto didn't stir; he was asleep on the floor. He drooled, as Jiraiya answered it softly.

"Mr. Jiraiya?" a lady asked over the phone nervously.

"Yeah?"

"Um… this is Shizune, Tsunade's partner at work,"

"What do you want?" Jiraiya asked annoyed.

"She had called me up to invite me to a night club and-"

"That's not unusual," Jiraiya cut off. "If that's what this is about, please don' t call me."

"No, no!" Shizune exclaimed, hoping he wouldn't hang up. "It's just… she's been acting different the last few days. I couldn't talk to her, maybe you can."

"How did you get my number?" Jiraiya asked, impatiently.

"I found it on Tsunade's desk," Shizune said quickly, and resumed. "But, can you please go talk to her? She's your friend isn't she?"

"Hmm… yes, but it's probably this time of the month-"

"Don't be such a male!" Shizune snapped. She was silent for a couple seconds and continued. "For Tsunade."

"Where did she say she was going?" Jiraiya asked, sighing.

Tsunade slipped a few coins into a slot machine, and pulled the lever, getting her gambling self pumped up. She cursed to herself as she got a bad score. She slipped a couple more coins into the machine, and kept going at it.

Jiraiya clicked off the T.V. and left the apartment, to head to where Tsunade was. He walked to his car, which was a few blocks away; where his home was. He murmured to himself as he flipped the key in ignition, and drove into town.

Tsunade was ordering a beer when Jiraiya arrived. He sat in a chair next to her.

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade gasped. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry," he murmured. She sipped the bottle, and looked at him.

"What do you want?" she demanded crankily.

"I've heard you've been on edge at work," Jiraiya started. "Something the matter?" Tsunade had a troubled look on her face and shook her head. Jiraiya ordered a drink, and planned to stay until Tsunade had some answers.

"Have you heard on the news," Tsunade asked quietly. "About Orochimaru?" Jiraiya nodded.

"Nothing new of course," Jiraiya chuckled. Tsunade sighed.

"How's Naruto doing with my challenge?" she asked, giving him a side stare.

"He's only got a little bit more training to go," Jiraiya informed. "He's determined." They were silent for a while. During that time, Jiraiya drank his full bottle.

"Want another bottle?" Tsunade asked him with a sly smile. Jiraiya looked at his empty bottle longingly.

"I don't have anymore money," he admitted.

"I have plenty," she smiled. She ordered another for him. She thought, maybe, she could get him drunk, either to lose him, or tell him news about Orochimaru easier. "Being a principal has its perks." Tsunade explained.

"I see," Jiraiya said, picking up the new bottle. She sighed and decided it would be better to tell him about Orochimaru.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade started. "I… about Orochimaru, he…" She couldn't do it. Why was it so hard to explain their encounter? Jiraiya was half finished the bottle in one gulp. She sighed. "I saw him the other day."

"Who? Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, finished with his second bottle. Tsunade bit her lip, and nodded. "Maybe you saw another freak, who looked as weird as him." He said, moving it to the side. Tsunade bought another bottle.

"When I saw him, he was outside the town," Tsunade explained, close to a whisper. "He's probably here, somewhere in the city." Jiraiya didn't put the bottle down until he was finished drinking. How many bottles of beer would it take to get him drunk? Tsunade, her pocket starting to feel empty, bought another bottle. He looked a little off after finishing a fourth.

"I haven't seen Orochimaru in years!" Jiraiya exclaimed. Tsunade pounced on him, and closed his mouth.

"Don't talk about him too loud, idiot," she hissed, and realized her plan was working; Jiraiya was getting drunk. One more bottle might tip him off the edge. She bought one more, and Jiraiya drank it slowly, but never coming up for air.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade pushed on. "Orochimaru, he's back, okay?" She explained like he was a little kid. He nodded, and moved around his empty bottle.

"Can I have another drink?" he asked, leaned on his stool. He fell over; there wasn't a back on the stool. Tsunade got up, and left him on the ground. Jiraiya got up, after a couple tries, and walked out unsteadily.

Driving in the car, Jiraiya was lucky not to get in an accident. He parked his car in front of the apartment, and walked to Naruto's apartment. When he tried to open the door, he was only able to jiggle the door knob.

He had locked himself out…

He murmured to himself, knocked loudly on the door. Naruto answered the door, rubbing his eyes.

"P…Pervy Sage," he yawned. "What are you doing outta the apartment?" Jiraiya pushed past him, and lied on the sofa. In a sloppy kneeing position, Jiraiya feel asleep.

" Naruto shook his head, and headed for his bed.

"Step 3…" He whispered, as he brought the covers to his shoulders.

_I don't like writing about Jiraiya getting drunk… sorry if some respect from me just dropped. I had to do it 'cause there are so many possibilities. Now… how's he gonna train Naruto in a hangover? Just kidding! _


	16. Chapter 16

_Sorry it's taken forever to get this chapter on. Life's been rough. So here it is. I don't stay with the manga as much as you probably expect. __**I don't own Naruto!**_

"Pervy Sage," Naruto asked concerned. He poked his limp body, which hung off the couch. Naruto crossed his arms. He had been brainstorming for a half an hour for ideas on how to wake up his teacher in a hangover.

"For all that is as wonderful as ramen!" Naruto cried, raising his arms. "Wake up!" He grabbed Jiraiya's shoulders and heaved half his weight onto the floor. The floor shook as Naruto slapped him repeatedly. Jiraiya shook his head, and reached for Naruto. Naruto stepped back. Jiraiya flopped his hand around in the air.

"Pervy Sage, I need to learn the third step to the Rasengan," Naruto whined, and kicked his side gently. Jiraiya opened his eyes, and looked around. He reached into his back pocket and to Naruto's horror; he showed him a flat bouncy ball.

Jiraiya giggled. "I laid on it," he explained.

"Why are you so _stupid_?" Naruto asked annoyed, kicking him harder. He paced as Jiraiya got up, and headed for the refrigerator. He stuck his head in the fridge, and Naruto rushed over when he heard him snoring. "What are you doing in my fridge?"

"Where's the beer?" he asked. Naruto shook his head, realizing his method wasn't working. He sighed, and decided to take this at a Noggin host's point of view.

"Pevry Sage," Naruto said gently, clapping his hands together. "There is no beer in the apartment."

"Why?"

"I'm a little too young to drink that stuff," Naruto explained, escorting him back to the couch.

"How about Tums?" Jiraiya asked.

"Why would you need Tums on a hangover?"

"For my tummy," Jiraiya said, playing with the buttons on the T.V. remote."Tums for my tummy."

"Whatever," Naruto sighed. "I'll go buy another bouncy ball, and you can watch T.V." He grabbed his orange jacket. "Don't burn down the apartment, okay?"

"Okey dokey," Jiraiya understood, holding a thumbs up.

The department store was deserted except for the bored teenager behind the counter. Naruto assumed he was a drop-out or had been expelled. It was a Thursday. Naruto searched up and down the aisle. Foods filled the shelves, making it hard not to buy at least one bag of Lays potato chips. He finally found a small basket with a few bouncy balls in it. As he picked out a red ball, someone walked into the store. Naruto held back a shriek and jumped behind one of the aisles when he saw Kakashi walk in.

"What's he doin' here?" Naruto asked himself aloud. He nibbled his nails, as he saw Kakashi stroll through the drinks. Naruto pulled up his hood, and walked to counter quietly. He placed the ball and chips on the counter.

"3.50," the teen said with no tone. Naruto turned around to leave, when he realized Kakashi had been standing behind him in line.

"Hello, Naruto," Kakashi greeted, holding a Sprite. Naruto waved frantically, and walked off, his shoulders high. Kakashi placed the bottle of Sprite on the counter, and turned to Naruto as he opened the door. "It's none of my business," he said, making Naruto freeze. "but why aren't you in school."

"I-I-I," Naruto stammered. "I'm not playing h-hookie!" Naruto explained.

"Really?" Kakashi asked, getting suspicious.

"1 dollar," the teen said. Kakashi took the bottle and paid.

"I g-got expelled," Naruto said, bouncing the ball nervously. Why was he getting so nervous? "How's Sasuke doing with the justu… um… chi, um…"

"He's doing fine with the Chidori," Kakashi finished, walking out the door, and holding it open for Naruto.

"Why aren't you at the school?" Naruto wondered out loud, as they walked across the parking lot.

"You seem to forget, I don't work there," Kakashi reminded. "I'm just taking a break between appointments."

"Appointments?"

"I'm a counselor,"

"Shrink," Naruto murmured. Kakashi popped open the Sprite, letting the fizz settle.

"What's with the ball?" Kakashi asked.

"Pervy Sage is teaching me the Rasengan," Naruto said. "Remember?"

"Pervy Sage?"

"Jiraiya," Naruto waved on impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah,"

"He's kinda drunk at my apartment right now," Naruto whispered, though the roar of cars on the highway made him hard to hear. Kakashi chuckled.

"That's wonderful to hear," he said, shaking his head. Naruto headed in a different direction, and waved good-bye. Naruto entered his apartment and slammed the door, to wake up Jiraiya. He was still on the floor, and Naruto sat cross-legged next to him.

"Pervy Sage," he whined. "I've got a new ball, so you can show me the 3rd step to Rasengan." Jiraiya moved his head flowingly, and opened his eyes.

"I really need water," he croaked. Naruto got up, and brought him a clear glass of fresh water. He sat up and sipped slowly. Naruto watched the water disappear. Jiraiya grabbed the bag of chips and ripped it open.

"Hey," Naruto exclaimed, snatching the chips back, and spitting into the bag. "Want it now?" Jiraiya just shrugged, and took the ball instead. He grabbed it in a light grip, and stared at it. Naruto looked at the ball, then at Jiraiya, then at the ball, and at Jiraiya again. Nothing happened.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, finally wanting to smack the ball out of his hands.

"I'm showing you the third step,"

"No, you're not. You're just sitting there."

"On the outside that's what it looks like." Jiraiya said, smiling.

"Is your chakra acting up; because I can't hear anything going on inside that thing."

"No, I'm moving the air around." Jiraiya said. "I'm moving it around so perfectly and smoothly it's grazing the walls of the ball." Naruto put his ear to the ball, and a faint hollow sound was coming from the ball.

"Sweet," Naruto murmured.

"Ready?" Jiraiya asked.

"Believe it," Naruto said lowly, as Jiraiya placed the ball in his hands.

"Why don't we practice outside?" Jiraiya suggested.

"I guess you feel better," Naruto guessed.

Sasuke sat in school, looking out the only opening in the cramped classroom; the window. Sasuke looked out into the main highway of the city. He sighed.

"Only 2 electrons can fit in the outer shell of the atom," the science teacher explained, and Sasuke wasn't tuned in. The highway was buzzing by, and Sasuke wished he was out there, instead of Science class.

Ino, being Sasuke lab partner, nudged him when she saw he wasn't listening.

"Sasuke," she whispered. "Are you getting this stuff?" Sasuke nodded absent-mindedly.

"There are protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom," Sasuke hissed. "I remember it from 6th grade."

"I know but-"

"Would you shut up?" Sasuke commanded. "You're giving me a headache." Ino turned to the teacher, and breathed in tears. He was oblivious to her heaving; something different had caught his eye. Two men walked on the side of the highway. One was huge, with a pale blue, unforgettable face. The other had a solemn look on his face, with dark black hair being tugged at the rush of cars. One thing was for sure-They wore the same uniform; black jeans, a dirty white shirt, and a long black coat that went to their knees. Sasuke eyes filled with anger and unbearable, painful hatred when he laid eyes on the dark one.

The same narrow shadow passed the man's face as it did when he had killed everyone Sasuke had ever cared about.

"Itachi," Sasuke whispered harshly.

"What?" Ino asked. Sasuke glared at Ino. She jumped, and couldn't leave his stare. It was furious and darker than ever. "W-What's the matter, Sasuke?" The bell rang, and Sasuke ran out of the classroom, leaving behind his book bag.

"I did it," Naruto proved, shoving the vibrating ball in Jiraiya's face.

"No," Jiraiya said slowly. "You didn't"

"How is _this_ not right?" Naruto shouted.

"Remember, my demonstration?"

"Duh,"

"You couldn't hear or see it move,"

"You honestly want _me _to do _that_!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's insane!"

"It's that, or don't show Tsunade up tomorrow," Jiraiya reminded. Naruto huffed, and stormed off.

_Yeah, right_ Naruto thought _I can _not _do that. I hardly know how to make a shadow clone. He expects me to make a perfect Rasengan? _Naruto held the ball, and made it vibrate again.

"Now, get… tighter," Naruto commanded, straining. He squeezed the ball, fighting against his own chakra. He got frustrated, and quickly got angry. He started shaking, and the ball vibrated more violently. That really set him off. The time bomb that had been carried on his back since he was born was set off. He felt an overwhelming feeling of anger, frustration, aggravation, hatred, sadness, confusion, and every negative emotion times ten.

The feelings people received on the day the Nine-tails destroyed Konoha City.

He roared, and grasped his head. His fingernails grew into claws, ripping holes into his scalp. He felt like a flame of power burned on his entire body. He roared, and was pleased to hear the echo ring through the city. He wasn't Naruto anymore.

Jiraiya jumped up when he heard the roar. He turned the corner of thick trees, and saw Naruto. Yet it wasn't Naruto. His body glowed fiercely, and the light lines that had been on his skin since Jiraiya had known him where darker and harsher. Naruto turned to look at Jiraiya, and they held stares. Jiraiya saw nothing that was in those eyes that were there before.

Harvested in his eyes was evilness. His pupils were tiny slits, and moved greedily. Jiraiya stepped back. Naruto rushed over to him on all fours, and a bubbling tail was forming around his rear. Jiraiya ran and turned to hide behind a tree.

"Oh man, oh man," Jiraiya said to himself. _What do I do?_ The thing that was Naruto had lost interest in Jiraiya and started heading for the harbor. Jiraiya, at first, was relieved, but he spotted a group of small kids playing by the dock. Jiraiya ran for his truck that he had parked in front of the apartment that night, and chugged the engine.

"What a piece of-" Jiraiya murmured, returning the key in the ignition. The car sprung to life, and whined back to sleep. That happened a couple times, until it blinked to life. Naruto was now at the harbor, and Jiraiya put his petal to the metal. If he could of, he would have pushed his foot through the petal and floor.

Then he realized he didn't have a plan. What was he going to do once he got there? With no time to think… he raced his car past the street, past the sidewalk, into the grass. He headed dead on for Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto!" He screamed, his adrenaline pumping excitedly. Naruto turned his head around, and spotted Jiraiya. No stopping now! He pressed against his wheel, ready. Naruto turned his full body around, and hissed. Jiraiya honked his horn, getting the kid's attention. They saw Naruto and screamed.

Naruto laughed. He laughed, making his whole body shake, and his hands raised to the sky. Jiraiya jammed into his seat, ready for the impact. However, he wasn't ready for this kind of hit. An orange flame of chakra sprang in front of Naruto, making Jiraiya's truck stop abruptly, and Jiraiya flying into his window. He laid on his horn, as the back of the truck tilted into the air, and seemed to almost stand on the front. The flame shot the car backwards, and made it also flip. A second tail was growing on Naruto, and Jiraiya was crushed between the roof and the seat of his car.

Naruto sniffed the air, and barely missed a kunai that was shot at him. Naruto angrily turned towards the direction, and saw Sasuke holding a pack of kunai.

_ Okay, so I'm trying to make the nine tails as hateable as possible. Just wondering, but what age do you think I am just by my writing style? (I won't give you the answer, but I'm just curious)_


	17. Chapter 17

_I can't believe it! Chapter 17… I like this chapter. I hope you enjoy it too. It's a little sad. But it can't always be happy or humorous, so anyway__** I don't own Naruto!**_

"Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, twirling the kunai in his hand. Naruto glared angrily for a couple seconds surprised.

"Sasuke!" He screamed.

"What are you doin', Naruto?" Sasuke asked, starting to walk towards him. Naruto started panting. The second tail had fully formed next to the first. The instant Naruto had looked at him; he had felt an overwhelming feeling of hatred and frustration above any other emotion swirling around. His lungs felt heavy with hatred. Sasuke kept walking forward. Why wasn't he afraid? The hatred rose to his throat and he screamed. Sasuke stopped when Naruto raced towards him.

Naruto saw a flinch of fear on Sasuke as he ran to him. The invincible, calm-cool, doesn't-like-anyone, who thinks he's better Sasuke was scared for a nanosecond that Naruto could see. Sasuke held his kunai in front of his face when Naruto had came close enough to touch him. He swept his arm and swung him into a tree. Sasuke was pounded into the tree, and started sliding down. However, Naruto wouldn't give him anytime to recover. He was being over come by his little hatred he had for him. It was like it was in a cup and the demon had filled it to the top and made it over flow.

He held Sasuke to the tree, and pressed as hard as he could. Sasuke's eyes were angry and a hint of scared. He stared down at Naruto, his eyes becoming shiny. Naruto slid him down to his eye level. He was finished with Sasuke looking down at him.

"Sasuke!" He screamed. They both looked to the side where a nearby police siren was calling. "Sasuke, I'm sick of you! I'm sick of you being better than me, always thinking I'm stupid and immature!" He was so close to Sasuke's face, Sasuke had closed his eyes. He could feel his chakra flowing fast and harsh, like his voice.

"I don't care if you're Uchiha or not!" He exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted, and opened his eyes wide. "You don't know anything about what it means to be anything."

"What am I?" Naruto screamed, his eyes squeezing with confusion. A few police cars were finally parked on the street, next to Jiraiya's smashed up car. Jiraiya had finally kicked open the door, and was running to Naruto. Sasuke looked to him, and started trying to push Naruto off him. Naruto didn't budge. Jiraiya finally reached him, and threw Naruto off Sasuke. Sasuke fell to the ground, and grasped for breath, grabbing his shoulders and throat.

Jiraiya slammed a paper that stuck to Naruto on his forehead, and Naruto calmed down. His whole face changed from upset and angry to tired and sleepy. The chakra was slowly and calmly returning to his body. It wasn't fast or furious anymore, but smooth. Sasuke stood up, and looked at Naruto. Jiraiya was scratched up, and bleeding in some places.

The police rushed out, and Jiraiya held up a hand.

"It's okay, you guys," he said.

"We had better take him to the hospital," one suggested.

"N-no," Naruto murmured quietly.

"Son, we have to if you want to live," the second one said. Jiraiya shook his head.

"I'm a doctor, I'll take him home," Jiraiya lied, picking him up. Naruto's eyes were normal and innocent again, he was half-awake.

"I don't care if you're a doctor, sir," the first officer said. "We _need _to take him to a doctor, for his safety."

"Listen, bub," Jiraiya said, stabbing the officer's chest with his finger. "If you weren't listening, I _am _a doctor." He brushed past them. Sasuke was still staring at where Naruto had been.

"Why aren't you in school, kid?" the second asked Sasuke. He shifted.

"I'm… just take me there," Sasuke gave up.

"Hold on," the first officer said. "You look pretty scratched up." Sasuke's back was starting to ooze blood, and his arms were scrapped.

"I'll be fine," he assured, walking towards the cars.

"We'll at least go to your home for you to get another uniform," the second one requested. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"No," he snapped. "I said I'm fine." They got in the car, and drove him back to school. He had missed 4th hour, and the office ladies made sure to get new clothes for him. He received an in-school suspension for leaving school, and was to serve it the next day.

"We'll be dropping by your house to talk to your parents about what you did, and what cost your offense is, and all that stuff," the second officer informed Sasuke. "What's your name?"

"Sasuke," he answered. He waited.

"Your last name, son?" the first asked writing it down. Sasuke was silent for a couple seconds.

"Uchiha,"

"Okay, we'll be there," he said with a troubled face.

Jiraiya walked into Naruto's apartment and laid him down on the couch. Naruto was a little beaten down looking, but other than that looked fine. Jiraiya sat next to him, and sighed. Naruto was asleep and had an even, peaceful way of breathing.

_Maybe the Rasengan was too much for him _Jiraiya thought looking at him. _We can't give up though. Maybe if Tsunade wasn't in this mixture I could tell him "No more." But, I can't look like a failure in front of Tsunade. _He straightened up, and walked outside to get the ball. When he walked back inside, Naruto was now drooling.

"Naruto," he murmured. This was the kid that wouldn't give, even to point of pushing himself to death. "What a kid you are." Naruto turned, and nuzzled into the couch. Jiraiya left the ball on the table, and walked home.

"Poor Sasuke!" Sakura heard Ino exclaim. She remembered hearing those words every time something happened to Sasuke. Sakura was sitting by where Naruto had sat everyday. Was she becoming an outcast? Hinata walked over with a tray.

"H-Hello," she greeted shyly.

"I wonder what happened to Sasuke to make Ino say that again." Sakura said, wondering aloud. Hinata shrugged, and picked at a bread roll.

"C-Can I tell you something, S-Sakura,"

"Tell away,"

"I-I re-really like N-Naruto," she admitted, and then shoved half the roll in her mouth. She swallowed hard.

"Why didn't you ever ask him out while he was here?"

"W-Well, I wrote him letters,"

"Okay,"

"I don't think he liked me the way I like him,"

"Then who would he like?"

"W-well, you, Sakura," she whispered. Sakura looked at her with shock. She had kind of picked up on it when he had been coming to the school, but if it was obvious to Hinata, then it was obvious.

"Why don't you ask S-Sasuke out, Sakura?" Hinata asked her. Sakura knew she wasn't being rude or noisy, but just wondering.

"I think he finds me annoying," she admitted. Hinata shrugged slightly.

"I-I think he finds everyone annoying,"

"You got that right,"

"But why do you like him?"

"Well," Sakura sighed. "Well, because… why don't you like him?"

"He's a little d-dark,"

"That's what makes him so hot,"

"Oh,"

"Why do you like Naruto?" Sakura asked, taking her first bite of her hamburger.

"He's seems like he has passion for everything,"

"Except school work," Sakura murmured.

"He's so sweet and I don't know. I've never really thought w-why." Sakura nodded, and realized she hadn't thought about it either.

"I mean, who thinks about it, right?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded.

Naruto woke up, and stretched. He looked around.

"Pervy Sage?" He exclaimed. No response. "This isn't funny." He looked in the bathroom, his bedroom, and the lobby downstairs. He saw the ball on the table. Then it hit him. He stepped back when he remembered the last time he tried to do it. He looked at his hands, feet, and looked at his aching stomach.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. He rubbed his stomach, and rushed to the bathroom to throw up. He looked around his apartment. It was so normal… He kicked the wall.

"What am I?" he asked, scrunching down to the ground. He sniffed, and couldn't hold back. At first it was a couple thin tears, and then his voice quivered and became louder as the tears became thicker. He sat in a ball, and cried. When ever he tried to stop, they come even harder.

It went from heavy tears, to light crying, to sniveling, the back to sleep.

Jiraiya walked in, and was surprised to see him on the floor.

"Hey… Naruto," he whispered, shaking him awake. Naruto blinked awake, and smiled at Jiraiya.

"What's up, Pervy Sage," he asked, sitting up.

"You want to come to my place for the night?" he asked Naruto.

"Why?"

"Well, it certainly beats instant ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Jiraiya chuckled.

"Okay, okay," Naruto agreed, giving him a playful shove. "I'm mean, why not?" Naruto headed for his room, packed an extra pack of clothes. He ran to the table to get his ball. Before he picked it up, his hand hovered over the ball.

"Pervy Sage," Naruto said quietly. Jiraiya had been waiting at the door. Jiraiya looked at Naruto, only seeing his back. "Why did it happen?" Jiraiya waited.

"You mean when you tried to do the 3rd step?" he asked. Naruto nodded, and his shoulders started shaking. "Naruto, no ones ever told you." He started. "When you were born, there was a law made for no one to ever tell you."

"About what?" Naruto asked, his voice cracking, still standing over the ball.

"There's a demon inside you, Naruto," Jiraiya explained. Naruto jumped. Jiraiya wished he would turn around to face him.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Have you ever wondered why you have that strange birthmark on you belly?" he asked him. Naruto's dangling hand weakly reached up to his stomach. "It's not a birthmark. It's a seal."

"A seal to keep the demon inside of you," Jiraiya said. "Have you ever heard of the nine-tails fox?" Naruto didn't move. "That demon… is the one I'm talking about."

"Why?" Naruto asked, his voice cracking more upsettingly then ever. His whole body started shaking.

"It was in your mother," Jiraiya said, lowering his stare to the floor. "Man, was she a great woman." He whispered.

"I am a monster," he quivered. Jiraiya didn't say anything. Jiraiya heard him starting to cry. His body shook, and he started lowering to the floor. Jiraiya watched him melt.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said quietly. "We all have good and bad in us." Naruto froze for a couple seconds. "We could all be a monster, if we acted on the bad we have in us." Naruto covered his eyes. "But you're not a monster. You act on goodness you have." Naruto sniffed, and rubbed his eyes.

"But… but what if I start becoming bad?" Naruto asked.

"You have enough friends to keep you away from that," Jiraiya assured. Naruto turned his head to him, and looked at him. His eyes were sad, and confused. His nose ran. He jumped up, and cried into Jiraiya's chest.

"Pervy Sage!" He exclaimed. "I-I want this demon out of me!" Jiraiya placed a hand on his back. Naruto 's body was so tiny, and innocent. Jiraiya grabbed his hand, grabbed the ball, walked out the door, and headed for the truck outside.

_ I hope you could feel everything that happened from the beginning to the end. This was so much fun to write. Anyway, please review!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Sorry, this chapter is so short! But right after this one, I'm writing an instant continuation. It just seems like rambling it I go on to… a certain part. Anyway, __**I don't own Naruto. **_

"You have to practice," Jiraiya insisted, holding the ball up to Naruto's face. He sat on Jiraiya's moldy, old sofa, pouting and caving into a blanket. He crossed his arms for warmth and to hide his hands from touching the ball. He shook his head stubbornly.

"No way," He snapped, staring at the T.V. screen.

"Don't you want to show up Tsunade tomorrow?" Jiraiya asked impatiently.

"No," was his simple answer.

"You've come so far," Jiraiya growled. Naruto squinted at the television. Jiraiya walked over to it, and flipped it off.

"I was watching that, stupid!" Naruto yelled, and turned it back on. Jiraiya kicked his T.V. and smashed the screen.

"Why won't you try again?" Jiraiya asked loudly.

"I don't want to mess up again!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes shiny.

"What a lame excuse," Jiraiya said, placing the ball in his lap. "What? You don't want to turn into the nine-tails aga-"

"Shut up!" Naruto commanded.

"I'll watch you this time," Jiraiya assured quietly. Naruto looked at the ball, his will-power weakening.

"You promise nothing will happen?" Naruto asked, revealing one of his hands.

"Promise,"

"Okay," Naruto picked up the ball, and pushed the blanket off his shoulders. He placed two hands on it, and concentrated. Not too much though… "Not again." Naruto murmured to himself. Jiraiya got up, and walked to the kitchen. He brewed up some coffee, and hatched an idea.

He chuckled to himself, and made two servings full of high-caffeine coffee. He brought out two cups of creamy coffee.

"Here, Naruto," Jiraiya offered, setting it on a table by the couch.

"Coffee?" Naruto asked, sniffing it. "Really?" Jiraiya nodded, and sipped. Naruto swallowed nervously and excitedly, and sipped the coffee. It warmed his stomach, as he licked his lips satisfyingly.

"You like it?" Jiraiya asked him.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled, and picked up the ball again. "When will I know when I have it?"

"Have what?"

"The third step mastered."

"Oh," Jiraiya said. "Well, you can feel it." Naruto gulped down another sip of coffee. He started feeling jittery, and started pacing as he tired moving his chakra inside the ball. He finished off his coffee, and his head started to hurt. However, he rambled.

"I can do this," he'd say ever once in a while. "Pervy Sage, why did you kick the T.V.?"

"I don't know," he answered, chuckling. The caffeine was finally getting to him.

"I had watched this one show," Naruto explained. "It was so stupid. It, like, was about all these farms in California, and man was it boring!"

"That's nice,"

"I wish this wasn't so hard. Why can't I skip the third step? I mean, it's not like I can make a tight, little ball in a ball. Wow that sounded wrong."

"Did it?"

"Oh, oh! I got my chakra swirling! Now…" he sat down, and felt the vibration.

"What's the matter? You almost have it," Jiraiya asked urgently.

"This is… where I…" Naruto kept the ball spinning, but grasped his head with the other. "I can't do it, Pervy Sage."

"Yes you can," Jiraiya encouraged.

"No… I don't want to," Naruto pleaded slowly. "I won't do it, Pervy Sage."

"Come on, Naruto," Jiraiya said, now pleading. "You're almost there!" Naruto gulped, and concentrated. He stricken his arm with his muscles and felt it getting smaller and bigger; like it was breathing.

"C-Come on," Naruto pleaded it, sweating starting to run down his face. Finally he got it to shape as the ball, and graze the sides for seconds at a time. "P-Pervy Sage! I'm doing it!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Jiraiya said, getting excited. Naruto sucked in his lips, and kept his chakra in a tight enough ball, to not vibrate the rubber, or make a loud hollow sound.

"I did it!" Naruto exclaimed. "I can't believe it! Wait until I can actually do it, and show it to that grandma of Tsunade!" Jiraiya chuckled, and shook his head. Then he lied on the couch, and raised his hands in victory. Jiraiya nodded.

"I told you," Jiraiya said.

_Ring…Ring…Ring…_ "Come on, Shizune," Tsunade whispered, annoyed. She thumped her fingers impatiently, as she called her co-worker.

"Hello?"

"Finally," Tsunade sighed. "Shizune, I can't come to work tomorrow."

"Why not Ms. Tsunade?" Shizune asked, not being rude. Tsunade sighed, and decided to not chew her out, since she knew Shizune was only wondering.

"It's none of your business, Shizune,"

"Yes, ma'am," Shizune sighed, with the distant 'oink' behind her.

"I trust you won't do anything stupid," Tsunade joked.

"Of course not," Shizune saluted.

"Thank you," Tsunade thanked. Shizune was quiet. She was surprised that her thanks sounded like it had came from the heart.

"Good night, Ms. Tsunade," Shizune said, hanging up. Tomorrow was the day. Orochimaru's deal was going to expire by the end of tomorrow, and her challenge with Naruto.

"Naruto," she whispered. "What a kid."

"Here's a blanket for you to sleep with," Jiraiya said, giving him a heavy blanket.

"What about a pillow?" Naruto asked, setting the blanket on the couch; where he was going to sleep.

"Oh, that's right," Jiraiya said sheepishly. "You see, I only have one, and that's the one I sleep with."

"Wonderful," Naruto growled. "Thanks a lot."

"Sorry." Jiraiya apologized.

"Whatever," Naruto moaned. He crawled under the blanket, and snuggled into the couch.

"Good night,"

"Nuh," Naruto groaned. He shut his eyes and instantly fell asleep. Everything was black. Then, appearing lightly, like Naruto was walking towards a light, a gate came into view. He rubbed his eyes, and started walking closer; for a better look. When he got close, his feet were getting wet. By what? Orange tinted water. He ignored it, and looked into the gate.

"_Naruto_," a voice growled powerfully. Naruto stopped walking.

"Who are you?" he asked. A set of eyes appeared. Naruto jumped at their size. They looked greedy, and evil. They were orange, and slits for eyes, like a- "Fox…" Naruto whispered.

"_That's right…_" It whispered. Naruto gulped, and fright filled his lungs. "_Come closer, Naruto_."

"N-No," Naruto said, stepping to where his shoulders were facing the gate. "You're going to hurt me, aren't you?"

"_Oh course not,_" The demon hissed. His face started humming into view. His smile was long and greedy. Naruto started panting. "_Unseal me, Naruto. I need freedom…"_

"No!" Naruto shouted.

"_It will be for your own good,_" It said. Naruto straightened up.

"How come?"

"_Everybody hates you, don't they?"_

"Because of you!"

"_Don't they owe what they deserve?" _Naruto was silent, and thought about it. The demon laughed, making Naruto shudder, and lift his shoulders coldly. Naruto placed his hand on his stomach.

"I wish you were never put inside of me," Naruto admitted. "You're a monster." The breath of the demon felt heavy and powerful. Above all, intimidating. "If I rip the seal, you'll be released?"

"_Yes, yes… take off the seal," _It said.

"You would hurt everyone,"

"_They deserve it_,"

"No they don't" Naruto realized. Naruto's hands turned into fists. He felt hands grab his shoulders, and pull him away from the gate. He jolted awake, and jumped up. Who was that? He sat on the floor, and panted.

"That was it," he whispered to himself. "That was the nine-tails." He patted his chest and stomach.

Sasuke walked down the highway, the streetlights showing him to everyone who was driving. He kicked a can that had been littered there. When the bus had dropped him off that afternoon, he didn't go home to the officers. He left immediately. To search for Itachi.

Trees lined the highway, and Sasuke was coming close to the part that led out of the city. No sign of Itachi.

"Itachi…" Sasuke hissed. "Why are you here?" A couple of police cars zoomed by. One of the last ones pulled over to meet Sasuke.

"Where you heading?" he asked. Sasuke pulled his hood on, and turned so he couldn't see his face.

"Umm… I'm looking for someone." Sasuke said. No point in lying. Maybe the police could help him.

"Who you looking for?" the officer asked. "Your mom and dad?"

"No," he said. "Have you spotted any men in long black coat?"

"Not that I can recall…" he said thinking. "Actually, I did see a shady bunch at this cheapy motel. You know, the one _way_ downtown."

"Yes," Sasuke said flatly.

"You're not thinking of talking to these people, are ya?"

"No," Sasuke lied, lowering his glare. "My… er… friend was talking about them the other day, and they sounded suspicious."

"Okay, kid, I gotta go," the officer said. "I gotta follow my team, or I'll lose 'em. G'night." Sasuke nodded.

"What an idiot," Sasuke murmured. "Now I have to turn around and go downtown." He wasn't sure if he was calling Itachi or the officer an idiot.

The sights on the way to down were suburban, then towards the main part of Konoha city was the big and bright part. As he got closer to downtown Konoha, he saw how messed and beat up it was. Some people's houses were wrecks on the outside, and the lights were out. That brought back horrible memories of his last days with the Uchiha.

He headed until he saw the small motel that the officer had been talking about. It had a tiny parking lot and one street light to light it and the sign that read _Stop and Drop Motel. _Sasuke stopped at the sign, and sighed heavily. Was he really going to find Itachi, and really try to take him on?

Yes, he was stronger than when they had last met.

He walked inside, to meet a younger, scraggly man reading a magazine. He looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke reached the counter, and thought of a way to ask where Itachi was staying. He reached over the counter, and grabbed the man's collar. He looked frightened and surprised. Coward was the first word to come to Sasuke's mind.

"Where is Itachi Uchiha staying?" Sasuke asked fiercely. The man gulped grabbed Sasuke's wrists weakly.

"L-let me look," he stammered, as Sasuke let go. He thumped his fingers on the man's desk, as he searched quickly through the list. "I-I'm sorry, sir." He said. There is no Itachi staying here." Sasuke growled.

"Who were the latest people to come in?"

"A wife and few children,"

"Were there two men who came in with long black coats?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Y-yes… they're somewhere upstairs,"

Sasuke left without a thanks, and headed to he next floor. The metal stairs creaked as Sasuke walked up slowly. He drew a kunai, and started knocking. He knocked on the first few doors; except for the noisy ones with obviously drunk teenagers.

He finally reached the door at the far end of the hallway. The last door to the right, room 412. He sighed, and raised his hand to the door. He stopped when he wasn't even an inch away, and thought.

_No way am I knocking, it's too polite. I can't just barge in, what if it isn't Itachi. Oh well, I'll just have to kick the door._

He knocked with his foot, gently kicking it. He heard two men murmuring to each other. Sasuke felt sweat drip, as someone creaked off one of the beds. The door opened, and Sasuke stared up at his older brother; the one who killed his family and betrayed him.

Itachi Uchiha.

"Die!" Sasuke yelled, and sliced his kunai at his older brother.

_ Like I said. Wouldn't it just be rambling if I continued with the battle? I'm going to try to put the next chapter on as SOON as possible! _


	19. Chapter 19

_Thanks again for all the support I'm getting from everyone! Thank you to my friends Axel __(TheEternalAlchemistoO), Kage-chan,(You're not a baka no inu) and Inu! And to everyone else who reviews. I love interacting with readers! ____**I don't own Naruto! **_

Itachi caught Sasuke's wrist. Sasuke stared up at his brother with hatred. His kunai was moments away from Itachi's heart. The coat that had been blowing in the wind was zipped up to cover the bottom of Itachi's face. He chuckled.

"I was wondering when you'd come around, little brother," Itachi said. Sasuke's anger flared and he shoved harder, but Itachi had a hard grip on his wrist.

"Who is it, Itachi?" A man's voice called from behind.

"My little brother," he responded. "What do you want, Sasuke?" Sasuke struggled and tried ripping Itachi's hand away with his other one.

"I want you to die!" Sasuke exclaimed. He heard someone down the hall open their door and check out what was going on.

"Maybe we should bring this outside," Itachi said and was gone in a blur. Behind him was a man, lying casually on the bed. He was the man that had been walking beside Itachi. His skin was an unhealthy pale blue.

Sasuke ran downstairs and rushed outside. Itachi was waiting in the spacious parking lot. Sasuke ran, his feet pounding the ground. His head hurt with anger and fury and his heart was racing. He skidded to a stop. Itachi's eyes looked at Sasuke. They were familiarly narrow.

"Let's end this quickly, shall we?" Itachi said, the wind kicking up leaves, and swirling around the two brothers. Itachi was behind Sasuke in the blur of a second. Sasuke felt a burst of energy and grabbed his wrist. The Sharingan was on, as Sasuke charged his chakra into his palm. A burst of lighting appeared in his hand, and he spun around to hit Itachi with a shock. However, he spun to hit nothing. Itachi appeared in front of him, and he kicked Sasuke down in the gut. He stood at Sasuke's side and held him down with his foot.

"It can't be over yet!" Sasuke screamed and blew a fireball. Itachi was gone when the smoke from the fire cleared. Sasuke looked around. "Itachi!" He yelled furiously. He spotted him by the back of the building, and rushed to him. When he arrived, Itachi was gone in the shadows.

A hand grabbed the back of his head, and slammed him into the wall. Cold blood trickled down into his eyes. It was apparently Itachi… who else could it have been? But then who was beside him?

"What now, Itachi?" It was the same man from the room. Itachi was the one beside him.

"You can ask him now," Itachi responded.

"I'm not answering anything," Sasuke growled, now tasting the blood in his mouth.

"Do you know anything about the nine-tails jinchuriki?" the man asked.

"Kisame, that won't do anything," Itachi scolded. "Where's the host?" Itachi asked more forcefully.

"If I knew, I wouldn't tell you!" Sasuke said, closing his eyes, to protect them from the blood.

"Don't waste our time, kid," Kisame sneered. Sasuke felt something sharp on his back; and did it feel huge.

"You mean the time you wasted watching T.V.?" Sasuke asked.

"Shut up. Itachi, do it."

"Mangekyo Sharingan," Sasuke was released, and he clasped his head; screaming in terror and horror. The torment squeezed his head, as he slid down the wall for support. His shrieking filled the air, and rang through his ears, echoing back. He felt unbearable pain everywhere, tingling tauntingly. He screamed, and rolled around.

When he saw Itachi and Kisame again, he realized he had been closing his eyes. He tried getting up, but nothing on him wanted to move. Kisame was leaning on a huge sword, wrapped in a white cloth. Sasuke panted, as his eyes darted. Itachi picked him up by this throat, and held him against the wall. Sasuke raised his hands weakly, to grab Itachi's. He wasn't out of energy to still hate Itachi and show it.

"Where is the nine-tails host?" He asked, his eye's lurking with the Sharingan. Sasuke gulped, and started to choke.

"I w-won-won't," he coughed. Kisame raised his sword.

"Put it down," Itachi commanded. Kisame slowly put it back on the ground. "Neanderthal." He murmured.

"I'm not t-telling you," Sasuke choked out. Itachi tightened his grip on Sasuke. Sasuke charged up his chakra, and forced Chidori to come out. One of his gripping hands on Itachi burst into lightening. Itachi flipped his hand to grab it and pressed it against the wall. With this strength, Sasuke was still hanging on the wall.

"Let's call it a night, Itachi," Kisame said. Itachi leaned into Sasuke.

"You're not strong enough," he whispered. "Because you don't have enough hatred." Sasuke struggled. "Foster your hatred… you're weak."

He squeezed Sasuke's throat and released him. Sasuke dropped to the ground, and gasped for breath. Itachi and Kisame were gone before Sasuke lost consciousness.

In the morning, Naruto went into the kitchen to find Jiraiya reading the newspaper and sipping coffee.

"G'morning,"

"Uhg,"

"Hungry?"

"Would you shut up?" Naruto moaned. "I'm not a morning person."

"Okay, okay," Jiraiya apologized. "Sorry, I was just trying to be friendly."

"Try a little less," Naruto mumbled, and looked through Jiraiya's refrigerator. He grabbed apple juice and poured it into glass. He sat down, and examined his apple juice. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?"

"Why does it look… green?"

"Probably the lighting or something," Jiraiya offered. Naruto picked up the container and looked for an expiration date. He stared at Jiraiya when he found it.

"What?" Jiraiya asked, annoyance edging his voice.

"April sixth of two-thousand six!" He exclaimed, shoving to Jiraiya to look at. Sure enough, it said "5-6-06"

"Ahh... nope," Jiraiya said, scratching the six. "That's a… zero."

"When was the last time you cleaned out your fridge?"

"Somewhere in the nineties," Jiraiya answered. "Look, I have fresh milk if you want some of that."

"Whatever," He got milk, and drank it slowly. He looked at the sun. "What's today?"

"Friday,"

"Oh! Duh! Today's the day I show Tsunade my Rasengan!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"How about later you show me that bad boy,"

"No problem," Naruto said. "I can do it right here right now!"

"But… don't,"

"Okay…"

Naruto got dressed, and practiced on the ball a couple of times before they started heading out. He swayed his head back and forth happily. Jiraiya was behind him, day-dreaming in the sun.

Tsunade slipped on a jogging sweatshirt and headed out. The wind played with her hair, and she walked to the park. She wasn't day-dreaming or swaying her head; she was pondering. The deal Orochimaru had made her never left her thoughts. It constantly lurked somewhere in her mind. She couldn't swat it away, and now the day was finally here. Was she going to see Nawaki and Dan again?

Jiraiya stopped, and Naruto didn't notice until a block away. He ran back.

"What's the matter with you?" He asked loudly. "Come on!"

"I forgot, you need to practice before you show Tsunade,"

"Uhh… why?"

"You don't want to look like a fool, do you?"

"Well, that's hard not to do,"

"Just practice,"

"Fine, but you'll see I don't need to," Naruto held his hands over an imaginary ball. He focused and swirled the chakra around in is hands. It swirled sloppily and busted from his hands. It went out of control and he lost it. He fell to the ground.

"Okay, okay, I was just warming up," he informed, and got up. He tried again, and it erupted again. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You don't have enough of a sphere shape," Jiraiya said.

"I didn't ask you," Naruto snapped. "What do I do?"

"Maybe if you other people to help you bring chakra,"

"Like who?" He spat. Jiraiya shrugged.

"You figure it out,"

"I need your help," Naruto whined.

"Does 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' ring a bell?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded clueless. "But what does it have to do with Rasengan?"

"You can make duplicates of you to help you," Jiraiya explained. "Maybe… say two."

"You've figured this all out before me haven't you?"  
"No, actually," Jiraiya smiled. "I'm just clever like that."

"_I'm just _clever _like that_," Naruto mimicked. He made two shadow clones, and made them stand beside him. "Okay, now what Mr. Clever?"

"They give you chakra and power and _viola_. You add the shape and host," Jiraiya explained.

"Huh?" They all asked.

"You two," Jiraiya pointed at the shadow clones. "Hold your hands over Naruto's and transfer your chakra to his hand."

"Okay!" They said together, and hovered their hands over his. They focused, and Naruto saw blue swirling chakra appear into his. He concentrated onkeeping it nice and tight. Their end result; a perfect Rasengan.

"Haha! I did it!" He exclaimed. He wiped sweat from his forehead, and felt the chakra smoothly swirling in his hand. "This is great, Pervy Sage."

"I know,"

The park was vacant, school was in. Naruto arrived, and eyed the swings. He looked around for Tsunade.

"Can I play on the swing?" He asked Jiraiya.

"No, you need to focus," Jiraiya insisted.

"Oh… come on Pervy Sage! Pretty please!" he pleaded with an annoying tone. Jiraiya rolled his head, annoyed.

"I said 'no'" Jiraiya snapped. "Are you five years old, or something?" Naruto pouted, and bounced the ball. Tsunade opened the gate at the north entrance, and Naruto stopped bouncing the ball.

"Well… finally," he murmured.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya approached. She sighed sharply.

"Let's get this finished with," Tsunade said then perked up. "Show me what you got." Naruto had a strong smile on that seemed to make the whole challenge almost pointless. He chuckled and made two shadow clones.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pointing at the clones.

"Just watch," Jiraiya said. The clones added their chakra and Naruto held the Rasengan in seconds.

"What now?" Naruto asked proudly. "Want a miracle?"

"Let's test out how strong that jutsu really is," Tsunade said, hiding her amazement.

"How?" He asked, still keeping the Rasengan going.

"Hmm…" Tsunade thought with her hand on her chin. She looked around. Swing set. Slide. Gate. Trees. "That's it." Tsunade answered. "Let's see how bad you can damage that tree over there." Jiraiya and Naruto swayed their head in the direction she was pointing. It was a thick oak tree, it's branches dropping to the ground.

"That's… such a huge tree," Naruto said slowly.

"Exactly," Tsunade said smugly.

"Won't I get in trouble? Like, aren't I breaking the rules?"  
"What rule would that be?"

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "But… I see kids play on it all the time and that'd be kinda like taking away their playground."

"Fine," Tsunade growled.

"Good save," Jiraiya thought.

"How about one in the Forest?"

"Sure, okay!" Naruto agreed, running in the direction of home. It took a couple minutes to reach the apartment building. He ran past the apartment, past the harbor, and waited at the thick wall of tree. He sighed. The last he was there, he was chased by Gaara.

"Gaara," Naruto murmured. "Are you different now?" He saw Tsunade and Jiraiya walking beside each other in the far distance.

"Come on, slow-pokes!" Naruto yelled, cuffing his hands over his mouth.

"Geez, I can hear him from here," Tsunade murmured. Jiraiya chuckled.

"He is loud," he admitted. He raised his arms to rest behind his head.

"Please," Tsunade whined. "Why do I have to look at your armpits?" Jiraiya went back to a normal walking position.

They walked the rest of the way there silently. When they reached Naruto, he was petting a cat. It was orange.

"Good to see you, Cat," Naruto was saying, as it purred and arched its back.

"What's that?" Tsunade asked in a snob manner.

"Umm… a cat," Naruto answered.

"We don't have time for this," she complained. "Come on. I'll find a tree for you to work on."

They followed Tsunade through the Forest. She went deep into it until she found a tree. It was a little thinner than the oak tree she had picked last. Not much thinner, though. Naruto swallowed, and approached the tree, like it was his enemy. Cracking his fingers, he concentrated.

"Shadow clone jutsu,"

_Whip…whip…whip, whip, whip, whip _The shadow clones were transferring chakra so fast it was making noise. Tsunade watched through squinted, troubled eyes. Naruto had a fast moving ball of chakra in time. He felt something jump from his stomach, and he lunged at the tree.

"Rasengan!" he cried, and ripped the tree through the middle. Tsunade was astounded. She looked at the now-tilted tree with wide eyes and mouth. Naruto pulled back and panted at his work.

"Now… do you believe… I can become strong?" Naruto asked, out of breathe of excitement. Tsunade lowered her gaze, and strengthened up. Jiraiya gulped.

"You've definitely proven yourself," Tsunade admitted.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping.

"Alright," Jiraiya smiled.

"Now…" Tsunade murmured. "I need to ask both of you a question." Naruto's ears perked up. "What do you think… about bringing someone back from the dead?"

_Yes… Orochimaru will be in the next chapter. It's taken longer to get to this next battle than I thought. I thought it was going to take 3-4 chapters. I think I'm going to do a Naruto poll on my profile, so keep looking for that. I also (finally) set up a beta-reader profile! Check that out too if you're interested. __**KEEP LOOKING FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OF ROOM OF IMPROVENT. **_


	20. Chapter 20

_Hello, again. Keep in mind this was hard to write. I don't like this ark, but I couldn't leave it out. Besides, I had one of my friends complaining I changed it too much. You'll see. Anyway__**, I don't own Naruto.**_

"Huh?" Naruto asked, blank from an off question. "Wait, what do you mean bringing back the dead?"

"What are you talking about, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked with a dangerous tone. Tsunade had been staring at the ground.

"Answer the question, fools," Tsunade exclaimed, clamping her hands into fists. "I really need help."

"Is it even possible?" Naruto asked. "I mean, to bring people back who have died."

"I don't know," Tsunade moaned with pain lurking in her voice.

"I don't think it would be right," Jiraiya spoke. "To bring someone back who's already left this world. Maybe that'd be a little selfish, don't you think?" Tsunade growled. "Maybe the other world's more peaceful than this one. You wouldn't want to bring them back to a world that's filled with injustice."

"I… agree," Naruto gulped. "Though, I could never truly understand what you just said, Pervy Sage."

"Thank you," Tsunade murmured. Her head shot up when footsteps crunched the dry leaves on the ground. Naruto and Jiraiya looked to where the sound was coming from. "How did he find me?" Tsunade asked under her breath.

"What?" Jiraiya asked. "What did you-" Orochimaru appeared from the shadows of the trees, which answered Jiraiya's question. Naruto gasped. That was the man from the newspaper that had committed countless crimes.

"So," Orochimaru hissed. "Have you made a decision, Tsunade?" He had a greedy smile on his face.

'I know you want something in return,' her voice flooded in from their last conversation. Orochimaru's cold voice slithered in.

'Take me to the school,' he had insisted.

"Orochimaru," Jiraiya growled. "What do you want?"

"Oh, Tsunade never told you?" he said tauntingly. Kabuto was at his side, as stoic as a statue.

"About what?" Naruto asked, not wanting anyone to forget he was there.

"He had found me outside of town a day after I had given Naruto the bet," Tsunade explained, her eyes hidden in sorrowful shadows. "He wanted… to get into Konoha Junior High if…"

"Woah, wait a second!" Naruto exclaimed. "You should have stopped the deal right _there_!"

"Shut up, brat," Orochimaru hissed. "This has nothing to do with you."

"No," Naruto said. "You shouldn't have listened to the rest, Tsunade! Don't you want to protect the school?"

"Shut up, kid!" Tsunade commanded.

"What did he offer you?" Jiraiya asked.

"He said he could bring back Nawaki and Dan," Tsunade answered. Tears started running down her soft face. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if it would be right, or if I just want to be with them again. I didn't know anything!" She sniffed, and straightened up. "But now I know." She clamped her heart, and her face hardened. "Orochimaru, I do not accept the deal!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Very well then," Kabuto reached into his pocket and pulled out a kunai. Naruto stood on edge.

"Run, Tsunade!" Naruto said.

"I can take care of myself," Tsunade said, facing the enemy.

"Let's do this!"

Sasuke had been wandering town. He cursed under his breath about the night before. His head hurt almost as bad as his dignity. He had decided to skip school that day. His house was where he would recharge; not trying school. The day was clear, and the sun didn't help his head. He trudged home, and plopped on the moldy sofa. The whole deserted neighborhood was dull and depressing. However, it didn't bother Sasuke. It was a reminder that his family wasn't coming back.

"Darn it!" Naruto said through his teeth, frustrated. "We can't even get past Kabuto!"

"Come on," Kabuto smiled. "I know you both can do better than that." He glanced at Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Huh, what's he talkin' about?" Naruto asked.

"Do you not know anything about him?" Kabuto asked Naruto with a cold stare. Naruto stared at him quizzically.

"What is there to know?" He asked.

"Just be quiet!" Tsunade shouted. "We don't have time for stories. Let us go home!"

"I don't think so," Orochimaru said from behind Kabuto.

"Well, we do have time for facts," Kabuto said, sliding up his glasses. The sunlight caught his glasses, giving him a dangerous look. "Well…" He paused with a smile. "Lord Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya are all students of one of the greatest shinobi known in Konoha City." Jiraiya glanced to the sky.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, honestly, they don't tell you this in school?"

"They took out those class a long time ago," Tsunade explained. "Parents complained. They wanted all talk of shinobi out of schools around the country."

"Hmph, well, it's very informational," Kabuto said. "Everybody knows shinobi are hidden everywhere you go."

"Moving on," Naruto said. His heart was still racing, but he started feeling like he was in school again.

"Anyway, you can imagine one could become quite a great ninja with a teacher well-known for his skill," Kabuto said with respect in his voice.

"But _who _was he?"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi,"

"He sounds familiar," Naruto said.

"Anyway, we don't have time for talk," Kabuto said, and rushed towards the battle again. He aimed for Naruto, but Tsunade stood in front of him, and kicked him away. Naruto ran from behind Tsunade towards Kabuto, and raised his fist for a punch. Kabuto got up and kicked from underneath; hitting Naruto straight in the jaw. Jiraiya caught Naruto, who had been shot backwards.

"Unh…" Naruto grunted. "What's really ticking me off is Orochimaru's just standing there!"

"He comes later," Jiraiya said. "Knowing him, if we're winning he'll either cheat or run away."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Ack!" Tsunade was hit hard but one of Kabuto's blows. She landed a couple yards away. "Hnh. He's better than I'd thought he'd be." They heard Tsunade murmured as she wiped her mouth. Naruto rushed away from Jiraiya and stood in front of Tsunade. She got up, and pushed him away.

"This is my battle, not yours," she said over her shoulder. "Get out of here while you can."

"But-"

"Jiraiya, go!" she demanded. Naruto got up before Jiraiya and rushed to Orochimaru. Kabuto kicked away like a defiant dog. Tsunade was about to make her blow when Kabuto grabbed her wrist. She stared at him, and felt her body getting limp.

She gasped and realized what he was doing. Before she let her body lose control, she ripped his hand away and jabbed his side. He collapsed and stared at her with angry eyes. He seethed through his teeth in frustration.

"What did you do?" Naruto asked her.

'She… my whole nervous system…' he thought painfully.

Kabuto a small mocking smile. He grunted, and his arms flopped.

"Well, while he's down there, let's move on to Orochimaru," Tsunade advised.

"Right!" Naruto agreed. He started running, but Tsunade held him back. She shook, and fell to the ground. "Tsunade!" He gasped. She pulled on his arm for support.

"Get Jiraiya," she insisted. "He hasn't taken as many hits as I have."

"Okay," Naruto said. "Pervy Sage! Let's do it!" Jiraiya bit his fingers and stabbed them into the ground. Naruto smiled when he recognized what he was doing. Jiraiya was lifted up on a toad's head. Naruto looked up.

"Yeah!" He cheered. Orochimaru smiled, and bit his thumbs. Tsunade flinched as she watched him stab his thumbs into the ground. He was lifted by the head of a snake. The toad and snake stared at each other.

The snake was long and purple. Naruto pulled Tsunade to a tree where she could rest.

"You're going to take a break," Naruto said. Kabuto had sat up. Tsunade gasped.

"Impossible!" She exclaimed. "How did you get up so fast?"

"Hmph," He smiled. "I'm figuring it out." He fell back over, but got back up to his feet.

"What exactly did you do, Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

"I confused his nervous system," she explained. "That means when he tries to move on part of his body, it moves the other." Kabuto chuckled.

'When I move my right arm, my left leg moves,' he reminded himself. 'And left arm right leg.' He stood up.

"You figured that out faster than I thought you would!" Tsunade admitted. Kabuto slowly grabbed a kunai from his pocket. The speed of his arm was creepy, like he was half-alive. Naruto stood in front of Tsunade.

"Hmph, move, before I decide to kill you first," Kabuto said. Naruto shook his head.

"I won't move!"

"Suit yourself," Kabuto chuckled. He rushed towards Naruto. "But you just threw your whole life away!" Naruto made a shadow clone. It caught Kabuto's wrist, with Naruto's help. The clone took the kunai away. Kabuto, infuriated, struggled from their grip. He raised his hand to punch. Naruto flinched when he saw unmistakable blue chakra on his hand like a glove.

He hit Naruto, and Naruto closed his eyes. It hit him in the forehead, which was being covered by his hands. His reflexes had naturally guarded a, maybe, life threatening blow. Kabuto stared at him in disbelief. Naruto felt anger and hatred in his eyes. Blood started getting in his eyes.

"How in the world…!" He screamed. The battle above had been shaking the ground the whole time and was gradually inching away from the one on the ground. Naruto breathed in, shaken.

"One day," He said in a shaky voice. "This will be nothing. I will over come every shinobi that has ever lived." Kabuto laughed. "You, Saru-whatever, Tsunade, Pervy Sage, everyone!" He made a swirling ball of chakra in his hand. At first slow, but then it became rapid. He made it tight and powerful. Tsunade gasped.

"Rasengan!" He leaped into Kabuto's gut, and jabbed the Rasengan into him. Kabuto landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Naruto looked over him and fell over. He could hardly breathe; the Rasengan had taken almost everything out of him. He looked up at the sky, and blinked.

'Is this it?' He asked himself. 'I'm I going to die?' He gulped, but in result coughed. His vision started getting faded, and his head hurt. Kabuto didn't look so good either. He was panting on his back, but looked in better shape than Naruto. Naruto heard footsteps walk towards him.

Tsunade was at his side and sat down. Naruto looked up at her.

"Not you too," she whispered. "You can't leave now!" She clenched the ground, crumpled up the leaves. He looked up at the sky. When she looked back at Naruto, he could only see an outline of her. "Hang in there, Naruto." She gently placed her hands on his chest. It felt comforting, and Naruto relaxed. If this was it, he wasn't going to leave upset or stressed.

He felt his lungs fill up with cooling air. He started seeing better. He could hear Kabuto sitting. He breathed heavily. The air felt good and recollecting. His body started feeling light, and healthy. He blinked, and looked at Tsunade. She was teary eyed. Kabuto's voice came in softly.

"Why?" He asked her. "If he's the reason your giving your life, why revive him?" Naruto felt his body warming up.

"I want to see him fulfill his dream," Tsunade answered softly. "And I'll spare my life to let it happen." She was shouting now. Naruto gulped, and sat up. Kabuto was gone in a blur.

"Where did he go?" Tsunade murmured.

Up in the sky, Jiraiya, with the help of Gamabunta, was having a tough time with Orochimaru and his snake, Manda. Kabuto was now at his side. Orochimaru was pausing to hear what Kabuto had to say. Jiraiya took this as an opening to attack.

"Gamabunta, let's go," He commanded.

"You got it,"

Gamabunta leaped over, drawing his sword. He hung it over Manda's head, about to strike. Manda slithered away, however, missing Gamabunta's attempt to end his life.

"I think the boy will become stronger over time, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said. He had regained his balance. It was hard to knee on a moving snake head. Orochimaru looked over at Gamabunta and his old partner, Jiraiya. He lowered his head.

"I think it's time to retreat," he said. He looked up, disappearing from sight in a giant puff of smoke. It had also taken Kabuto and Manda. Jiraiya sat down and grabbed his head.

"Phew," He sighed. "I'm finished, Gamabunta. You can go if you want."

"Where's the little shrimp?" He asked Jiraiya.

"Who, Naruto?"

"Hey!" Naruto called from the ground. He was jumping beside Tsunade. She had her hand on her hip.

Naruto climbed up Gamabunta.

"What's up!" Naruto greeted.

"You don't look in good shape," Gamabunta said. "You should go home."

"I am! But Pervy Sage has to follow," Naruto said. "He might get drunk again." Jiraiya huffed. Tsunade had disappeared as Naruto and Gamabunta talked.

_Yeah, either you A: didn't mind my changes B:, you're pulling your hair out, or C: you didn't even noticed what I changed. The next chapter is going to be Christmas themed, so I'm looking forward to how it's gonna come out! See yall later! _


	21. Chapter 21

_Hello again! I love this chapter so much! I'm sorry if you don't celebrate Christmas. I was going to make Sakura Jewish, but I didn't know anything about Hanukah. Anyway, Happy Holidays and please enjoy my special Naruto chapter! _

The weeks passed by smoothly. Naruto and Jiraiya worked a little bit on Rasengan; though Naruto swore he had perfected it on Kabuto. Jiraiya still wasn't convinced, and Naruto had made better than before.

When December came around, Naruto had to unpack his coat from the year before. It was bulky, and had black and navy blue on it. Naruto hated going out in it, but his jacket wasn't keeping him from becoming a human icicle anymore. Fall was gone and winter had arrived.

The first snowfall came two weeks into December. Naruto and Jiraiya had been switching where they were living from time to time. Naruto would sleep a couple nights at Jiraiya's and Jiraiya at Naruto's. Naruto had never felt so happy in his life. He still wondered what was happening at school and what everyone was doing. However, he didn't think about it too much.

The snow drifted past the window of the apartment. Naruto looked outside, but not without having to wipe the window first. It had fogged up. The snow was really piling up. He slipped on his coat, and sneaked out of the apartment, not wanting to wake up Jiraiya.

The snow crunched under his shoes. He wiggled his toes for warmth. He looked down the block, and remembered he and Jiraiya had drunk the last bit of hot chocolate the night before. He looked at the sky. Was it snowing too hard for him to walk a couple blocks? Snowflakes drifted down softly and slowly. It wasn't even that much snow; of course he could go a couple blocks!

Sasuke looked out of his home, thinking of the snow as an inconvenience. He huffed, which made a cloud of air puff out in front of him. His home had a heater that was dying, so even inside was almost as cold as outside. He decided if he moved around, he might warm up.

He took out his coat, which was blue, and walked out of the neighborhood. He went to his favorite place; the harbor. It was iced over to a certain distance. Kids were poking it, with their ice-skates over their shoulder.

"Do you think the ice is thick enough?" One girl asked. She tried walking on it, but it sunk into the water.

"No way," A boy answered next to her, and sighed. "Do you have any sleds at your house, Sashi?" The girl, Sashi, shook her head. "Man!" The boy exclaimed frustrated. "What are we going to do?" Sasuke had watched from a distance. He rolled his eyes, trying to convince himself not to do what he was about to do, but he walked over to them anyway.

"Hey," he said, and smiled quickly. "I see you guys can't ice-skate." The kids looked scared. He sighed. "Well, you could make snow angles, you know?" The kids glanced at each other.

"I haven't done that in years," The boy said.

"Me neither," Sasuke admitted. "But you know it's better than staying inside."

"Not really," Sashi said. "There's a heater inside, and a T.V." Sasuke sighed.

" Hmph, well it's just a suggestion," Sasuke said. He looked out onto the ice. The sun made it look slippery. "Do you like sledding?" He asked them. "On those hills you make out of snow and stuff." The kids nodded. "I have a couple sleds of you want them."

"Really?" Sashi asked. "Can you bring a few from your house?" Sasuke nodded.

"I'll go get them," he said. "But it'll be a couple minutes. Don't freeze." He walked off with his hands in his pockets.

Hinata was in her dimly lit room. She traced out the snow-topped trees on her foggy window. She had a blanket on her back. The candle was going out, and it made her have a peaceful feeling to her room.

"Oh, Naruto," she murmured. "Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a Merry Christmas."

"Crank up the radio, sis!" Kankuro called over his shoulder. Temari, sipping her coffee on the porch of their house, turned up the sound on the radio.

"-_How I hate goin' out in the storm… but if you really hold me tight_, _all the way home I'll be warm!_" Kankuro untangled the lights after several minutes of following different knots. He growled with frustration.

"Where's Gaara?" He asked grumpily. "He could be helping."

"He doesn't like anything that has to do with something jolly," Temari said snickering.

"Well, whether he wants to or not, he's helping me untangle these stupid lights!"

Temari sighed. "I'll go get him," she said tiredly.

Gaara was sitting at the table staring at the tree the siblings had put up the night before. She sat beside him and patted him.

"Gaara, you should go help Kankuro with the lights," Temari said with laughter hiding in her voice. "He's about getting ready to pack them pack up again." Gaara closed his eyes.

"We never use to put lights up where we use to live," Gaara said.

"He's trying the best of Konoha," Temari said, looking out the window. Kankuro was tied up with lights at his ankles. She chuckled. "Well, if you're not going to help him, at least come outside." Gaara had a tiny smile on his face.

"Okay,"

Kakashi clicked on the T.V. Nothing was on but Christmas specials he use to watch as a kid.

Channel 4- Frosty the Snowman

Channel 8- A Charlie Brown Christmas

The list was almost endless. Kakashi sighed. He had watched them enough as a kid. He walked into the kitchen with Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in the background. He took his Sprite out of the fridge. He couldn't help that he was addicted to Sprite and Skittles. That was basic diet, besides beans.

He sat down, and jumped at the high pitched sound that Rudolph's nose would make. It brought back memories of being home by himself for Christmas. His father would be on missions most the time.

He laughed at how bad the start-stop animation was. Maybe he enjoyed it more than he thought he would.

Sakura was outside, not sure what to do. The snow wasn't coming down hard enough for them to cancel school the next day. It upset her, and she wasn't very happy. She kicked the snow, and almost froze her foot to the bone. She walked numbly inside, and searched for something to do.

"It's beautiful outside," her mom said. "The snow is falling, and Christmas is in the air."

"Mom, that's lame," she complained.

"Sakura, I'm going to kick you out of the house if you don't do something,"

"Whatever," Slipped out of her mouth, but then apologized quickly. She went to the kitchen and popped popcorn. She licked the butter off the inside of the bag, as she dumped the warm popcorn into a bowl. She asked her father for a sewing needle and string was. She sat in front of the T.V. and strung the popcorn together for the tiny tree outside.

Naruto left the store with winter poinsettias and hot chocolate. He had kicked himself for forgetting to see Sakura ever since he had been expelled. He put the hot chocolate in his pocket and carefully carried the poinsettias to Sakura's.

He rang the doorbell to her home. Her mom answered. She looked frightened. Naruto had come to realize why adults acted strange around him. He sighed at the look on her face and ignored it.

"Is Sakura home?" He asked. "I have these for her."

"Oh, well… um she's inside," she said with sweat leaking out of her hair. "I'll go get her for you."

Sakura munched on a piece of popcorn and placed the next one on the string.

"Dear, there's someone here to see you," she said.

"Who is it?" Sakura asked, hoping deep in her heart it was Sasuke.

"It's umm… what's his name? oh, yes. Naruto,"

"Oh, okay," Sakura got up. "Hey, Naruto," She looked at the poinsettias. "What are the leaves for?"

"Oh, umm, Merry Christmas, Sakura," Naruto said, and set the pot down. "They're not leaves though. They're poinsettias."

"Oh, thank you, I guess," Sakura said, and picked them up. "Merry Christmas, or happy holidays, or whatever you celebrate." Naruto nodded.

"Thanks. I don't want to freeze, so I'll see you later," Naruto said, nervously. Sakura smiled, and watched him walk off.

Tsunade walked through the park and sighed. Nothing to do around here, she thought. Just snow, snow, snow. She looked up, and a snowflake landed on her nose.

"Wow that looks great!" Kankuro said, wiping his forehead. Gaara walked out from under the porch to take a look. When he reached his siblings, Temari put an arm around her brother's shoulders.

"I can almost tell you're not impaired," Temari teased.

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Kankuro exclaimed.

"I think she's calling you retarded," Gaara smiled.

"Hey! I'm not like that!"

"I was joking, calm down," Temari slapped the back of his head.

Kankuro smiled and looked at Gaara.

"You've got that freaky look on your face," Gaara told him with a threatened look. Kankuro ran inside and came out of the house with money.

"Temari, do you know where they sell sleds?"

"Oh boy,"

Naruto walked into the apartment quietly, but didn't hear snoring.

"Hello? Pervy Sage?" Naruto called. He set the hot chocolate mix down on the table. "Come on, Pervy Sage, where are you?"

Naruto sat on the couch and sighed. Maybe he went back home, he thought. The door busted open, and a giant green tree stuck out. Naruto jumped. His eyes were wide, but then he realized what was going on.

"No way!" he exclaimed. Jiraiya had brought a skinny, but plentiful tree. "This is so beast!"

"Ho ho ho," Jiraiya said. "I bought a tree. What do you think?"

"It's perfect!" Naruto exclaimed, and hugged Jiraiya. "Dude, this is so cool!" Jiraiya set the tree on it stump, and the tip slumped on the ceiling.

"Uh, oh," Jiraiya murmured. "Maybe it's a little big."

"Who cares?" Naruto jumped. "Oh, wait a minute, I don't have any ornaments." Naruto looked at his feet.

"I think I have some in the attic at my place," Jiraiya said. "I'll be right back."

Naruto waited, but in the meantime, someone knocked on his door. He opened it cautiously. He saw a smiling Sakura.

"S-Sakura!" Naruto jumped. "Hello, again."

"Hey, Naruto," she smiled. She was carrying a bowl with popcorn in it. "I made this for my tree, but I thought maybe you could use it more than I could." She held it out. Naruto picked it up, and saw they were strung together with string.

"Thanks," Naruto said, and smiled. He couldn't help it. He lunged at Sakura and hugged her. She stepped back for balance and didn't hug back for a couple seconds. She finally patted him on the back. "Merry Christmas."

Sasuke dragged two sleds behind him, and the two kids were still waiting, tagging each other.

"Here," He said. "Sleds."

"Yay!" Sashi cheered. "Thank you!"

"Wait," the boy said. "Don't you want to sled with us?" Sasuke had started walking off.

"No," Sasuke said flatly. "I don't sled anymore." He said. He felt a dark look cross his face. The boy stepped back.

"Okay, Merry Christmas," he said, walking away.

_ The next chapter is probably going to end the Christmas spirit. Sorry I couldn't end this chapter with Christmas, but it was getting lengthier than I thought it was going to. I really think Sasuke's a little Scrooge. Anyway Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!_


	22. Chapter 22

_This is a transition chapter. Now, just to warn you, for all you Santa-believers out there, I'm not saying he's not real in this chapter. I just did this for humor. You'll see. Anyway, like always, __**I don't own Naruto!**_

"Well, that looks pretty good," Naruto smiled, stepping back from the tree. The popcorn string hung messily on top of the plastic ornaments that sparkled in the rainbow lights.

"What time is it?" Jiraiya asked, taking out his phone. "Hmm, time for you to go to sleep."

"But-"

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve," Jiraiya interrupted, stepping out the apartment. Naruto bit his lip and frowned. He walked up the tree and knocked at one of the ornaments. The hollow sound was so unfamiliar to him. A Christmas tree? That was fiction to him.

He sighed. This was, so far, the furthest he had ever celebrated the holidays.

The next day, Jiraiya came over and brought a present to put under the tree.

"Where's my present, Naruto?" he joked. Naruto looked around nervously.

"I wish I had enough money to buy all of my friends a gift, Pervy Sage," Naruto said with puppy eyes. "But I only have enough money to eat and stuff."

"Yeah, yeah, it's okay,"

They didn't do anything too special. They mostly sat around and watched movies on T.V. Naruto had gone out to get a can of cookies.

"Why do you want cookies so bad, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked when he had requested it for the fifth time.

"For Santa Clause, of course," Jiraiya said. He put on his most serious face, but never looked at Naruto.

"Yeah, right," Naruto snorted. "Santa Clause isn't real."  
"How can you say that?" Jiraiya asked loudly. How long did kids believe in Santa Clause again?

"Umm, I've never believed," Naruto said, looking out the window. "He never comes to my house. Or I don't have any parents who go out in the middle of the night and buy gifts."

"This year will change," Jiraiya assured. "He'll be here."

"Hmph,"

Jiraiya left and promised to be back again Christmas morning. Naruto eyed his gift under the tree. What had Pervy Sage bought him? He picked it up and shook it suspiciously. It was heavy, and sounded long and skinny.

Naruto fell asleep on the couch with the T.V. on. Nothing special about that.

Santa's not comin', Naruto thought. He never does…

A loud thud woke him up. He opened it eyes and thought maybe it was just the dream he was having. He sat up and looked around. The thud came again. It was coming from the door. It sounded like someone was kicking the door. He stared at it. Strange… The first thought that came was-

Robbers.

Naruto nodded to himself and ran for his bedroom. Under it was a pop gun. He cocked it and made it pop. It was something… better than nothing. He crept the door on tip-toes. He pumped the gun and swung the door open. He popped the gun and closed his eyes. When he heard a loud thud against the opposite wall, he opened his eyes.

"What… in the world?"

Santa was on the ground, rubbing his head. Naruto stared blankly and dropped the gun.

"Ho ho- ow" He rubbed his neck and got up.

"Umm,"

"I'm Santa Clause," His voice sounded strangely familiar. Naruto blinked and tried to pick a face, but none came. He shook his head when a hazy face came to mind but never cleared.

"D-duh… uhh," Naruto didn't know what to say. He wasn't supposed to come unless you were asleep. Was he supposed to invite him in?

"You got cookies right?" He asked, and then sighed. "I mean, Merry Christmas."

"You're… you're not real," Naruto stammered. "This is some stupid dream, right?"

"Unless we're dreamin' the same thing, kid," He said, stiffly getting up. This was weird. Santa's voice was so familiar, it annoyed him. His face, too, was familiar.

"Sorry," Naruto said. "You're some impressionist right?"

"Why do you doubt that I'm Santa Clause?"

"Well, because I've never got a visit from you," Naruto said, deciding to go along. "Oh, um, yeah I have cookies inside." Naruto moved to the side. Naruto held back the smile painfully. He had a plan.

"Thank you," Santa said. Naruto covered his smile with his hand.

"So, Santa," Naruto said with a smile that wouldn't leave. His plan was too obvious.

"Please, call me St. Nick,"

"Right, Nicky," Naruto said, his voice dripping with sneakiness. "The cookies are on the table."

"You're Naruto, right?" Santa asked, eating a cookie.

"Yeah," Naruto said, inching closer to Santa. "Uzumaki Naruto to be exact."

"Uhh…" Santa looked at Naruto strangely. "What are you doing?" Naruto swiped the fake beard off of "St. Nick."

"Ah-ha!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at- "Got ya, Pervy Sage!"

"Hey, shut up," Jiraiya moaned. "I knew it was risky."

"Call me St. Nick," Naruto mimicked. "Yeah, right."

"Whatever,"

"Let me sleep, stupid," Naruto said, pointing to the door.

"Whatever,"

December passed after that. New Years was short, since Naruto crash after drinking a whole gallon of Coka Cola. January was a totally different month. Naruto got an unexpected visitor.

"You know I'd only do this if I were desperate," Sasuke said at Naruto's door.

"Sasuke!"

"Yeah, yeah, can we cut the greeting?" Sasuke moaned, rolling his shoulder. His hand had been holding it. Naruto looked at his shoulder.

"Okay, what's the matter?"

"I, uh… I…" Sasuke gulped. This was going to be harder than he thought. "I need… help."

"With what?"

"Do you know where I can get a check-up for a low price?" Sasuke asked. Jiraiya was listening from the couch. "You know, hmph-" He closed his eyes. Naruto got the feeling he had broken something. But how?

"You know, to get an x-ray or something,"

"Like I know," Naruto said. "I'm never really goin' to the doctor."

"Great," Sasuke growled. "I knew you'd be a big help." He looked down the hallway.

"Hold up," Jiraiya exclaimed so he'd be heard. He held up his arm. "I think I know someone who can help."

"He's old," Naruto whispered. "Of course he'd know. The doctor's office is a second home to them."

"You know, Tsunade knows a thing or two about medics," Jiraiya said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Are you sure she'd help us?" Naruto asked. "She hasn't even made contact since that huge fight."

"She had better," Jiraiya said. "She's got no life, you know." Naruto chuckled. Sasuke shot looks around Naruto's apartment.

"I didn't know you were living with that old geezer," Sasuke said.

"He just visits," Naruto defended. "Do you remember when he used to substitute our class?"

"Yeah," Sasuke dropped his hand of his shoulder. "I think I broke something."

"Yeah, no kidding," Naruto said. "What happened?" Naruto was afraid to hear. If Sasuke hadn't been to the doctor and just ignoring this pain, it could have been there since he had attacked him.

"None of your business," Sasuke sneered. Naruto felt relief fill his lungs. That time at the park was his business, so his worry weakened.

"How's Kakashi been?" Naruto asked. "I saw him at the store a long time ago, and then that was it."

"I only go there once a week now," Sasuke answered, as they heard Jiraiya arguing over the phone. "He only wants to keep me going, so I won't forget training and stuff." Naruto nodded, and looked to Jiraiya.

"Would you hurry up?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Shut up," Jiraiya said. There was pause. "No, I wasn't talking to you, Tsunade. Geez, you think I'm out to get you, or something." Naruto shook his head.

"He's stupid," Sasuke said.

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"He smells," Sasuke said, and grasped his shoulder. "Would he hurry up?"

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto called.

He held up a hand to quiet him. "Yeah… okay. This evening? Okay, see you then. " He flipped his phone to hang-up.

"She's coming tonight?" Naruto asked.

"Oh brother," Sasuke complained. He invited himself in and sat at the table. "I didn't expect spending the evening here. I really hate this woman."

"You don't even know her," Naruto said, walking to his couch.

"She said I was a jerk," Jiraiya said as Naruto sat down. "How is asking for help being a jerk?"

"Maybe because we haven't talked to her once since that battle," Naruto guessed, stealing the remote from Jiraiya.

"What battle do you keep talking about?" Sasuke asked nosily. "I need something to keep me occupied."

"You're not here so we can entertain you, kid," Jiraiya answered lazily.

"Well, Hallmark certainly isn't gonna cut it," Sasuke mocked with his eyes closed.

"It happened in… November maybe," Naruto said. "I really don't want to go through the whole story."

"Great," Sasuke groaned. "You made it sound like you were about to tell me." He sighed. "Well, I'll sit here until she comes."

Sasuke sat at the table, bored for three hours. Tsunade arrived at 6:00. Sasuke had been driving Jiraiya and Naruto nuts; he was cranky from pain.

"Where's the patient?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya and Naruto pointed tiredly at Sasuke.

"You look like a nice kid," Tsunade said sarcastically. "You're Sasuke, right?"

"Can we get this over with?" Sasuke asked.

"I knew it…"

Naruto had flipped the T.V. off at Tsunade's command. She said she hadn't done anything medical in a while, so she needed to 'concentrate.' She placed her hands Sasuke back; who was leaning on his knees. He said that leaning didn't hurt, but everyone heard the pain stretched in his voice.

After Tsunade had moved her hand up and down his back, she lifted her hand, and placed her hands on her hips.

"What?" Sasuke asked nastily.

"Face this way," she demanded, screeching the chair to face her. "And sit up as straight as possible." He did as her was told, but pain lurked in his eyes. She moved her hand on his gut, then moved up to his shoulders. As she analyzed, Naruto was watching the smooth, calm chakra moving with her. She was locating pain with her green medical chakra.

"Hmm," she murmured to herself. "Yes, there is definitely tension in your left shoulder." She pressed his shoulder. He winced and tightened his lips; trapping a yelp.

"I think you either sprained it really bad, or you broke something in this arm," Tsunade said. "How long has it been hurting?"

"Umm, a few months now," Sasuke said, looking away.

"It's most likely broken somewhere," Tsuande said. She stared down at him. "It feels close to you shoulder, so it's probably not your hand or wrist." She rummaged around in her purse. She pulled out an arm sling.

"It's never possible to be too prepared," Tsunade said handing it so him. "Especially if you're trained as a medical ninja." She gave him a warm smile. "Hope I helped."

"Thanks," he said, opening the box. Naruto was amazed.

"It's impressive that you still remember," Jiraiya said quietly.

"It hasn't been that long, idiot," Tsunade growled.

"Thank you, Tsunade!" Naruto said.

"For what?"

"For helping my friend," Naruto said, placing a gentle hand around Sasuke.

"G'night," Tsuande left awkwardly.

"Get off of me," Sasuke demanded, shoving Naruto's arm off. "And we're not friends."

"Then what are we?"

Sasuke got up and was silent. He smiled cockily and said over his shoulder "See you around."

_Not so… boring, right? I didn't realize how close to the end of Naruto part 1 I was. Just hang in there, the next arc is __**Sasuke retrieval arc**__! (Twisted in the Sakutada-present-day way!)_


	23. Chapter 23

_Here's where the action begins. Hopefully we have Sasuke fangirls/fanboys reading this chapter. This is mostly writing in Sasuke's point of view. I hope you can feel everything I describe! __**I don't own Naruto!**_

"How do you think Sasuke's doing?" Naruto asked Jiraiya. The wind was blowing through the open window of his apartment. It cooled the room, though they were wearing coats.

"Who knows, who really cares," Jiraiya answered lazily. Naruto glanced a look to his bare bookshelf. The book that he got for Christmas from Jiraiya was randomly placed to the corner. He wrinkled his nose every time he saw it; Make-out Paradise.

"Well, do we have anything to do today?" Naruto asked, casting Jiraiya an annoyed look. "Because if we don't, I want to find where Sasuke lives."

"Umm, sure," Jiraiya said. "But I'm not tagging along."

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't want you to anyway. Oh, great, today's Thursday isn't it?" Jiraiya checked his phone.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much,"

"Wouldn't Sasuke be at school then?" Naruto plopped onto the floor. "I guess I'll have to wait until whatever time I used to get out; like three-o-clock or something."

"I don't know," Jiraiya said.

School ended slowly for Sasuke. All the girls quizzed him on his sling. He had gotten a few attempts from girls to write on his sling, but he had dodged all attempts.

"Hey, Sasuke!" A girl had called from the side of the cafeteria. "Sasuke come sit over here!" He turned to see Ino Yamanaka waving him over.

"No thanks," he said, and walked as far away as possible.

"S-Sasuke," He was ready to hit the next girl that said his name, but when he turned around it was Sakura. He sighed.

"What?"

"Umm, are you finished lunch?" He saw her flinch. She knew she had sounded as dorky had he thought.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered. "Can you go tell your friend Ino to leave me alone?"

"We're not friends anymore," Sakura scolded. She placed her hands on her hips. "So, I'm not the only one that finds her annoying."

"Hmph, she never leaves me alone now," Sasuke complained. "She sits next to me now in Science. Now she thinks we're pals or something!"

"I think she thinks a little too highly of herself," Sakura said, glancing a sideways look to Ino. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna go," Sasuke said, feeling a little tense. He walked out of the cafeteria, and glanced back out at the street; nothing but zooming cars. Last time he saw Itachi in the daytime was out there. The thought of Itachi made his whole body shake with anger.

He felt angry for the rest of the day. If anyone talked to him, they didn't leave without being snapped at.

He ran all the way home after getting off the bus; the farther away from everyone, the better. But this time, running away wasn't making him feel any better. It made him feel even more frustrated. He ran into the vacant neighborhood that was once lived in by his family. He stopped on one of the streets he had passed as a child.

Laughter and happy memories filled his head. He grasped his head, and shook it wildly. He didn't want to remember. It was never going to come back, then why think about it? He kneeled on the ground when the memories became stronger.

'Hello, Sasuke. Out for a walk?'

'What a beautiful day,'

'Hey, look, it's Sasuke! We need an extra player in our game, Sasuke,'

'I think your brother was looking for you, Sasuke,'

"Argg!" Sasuke let a long painful scream escape. It fueled his anger, his frustration, and his hatred for Itachi. When he opened his eyes, he looked around. The air rustled his hair, the empty houses whistled, and the trees whispered above Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" Sasuke spun around and looked straight into Naruto's eyes. How long had he been standing there? Naruto looked confused and worried. "Are you alright, Sasuke?"

Sasuke growled with frustration as he panted. "Naruto," he growled. "Naruto, go away."

"How's your arm doing?"

"I said, go away!" He shouted. He got up from his knees, and glared at him. Naruto stepped back. He looked at Sasuke with a freezing stare and walked away. Sasuke watched him disappear behind the trees a couple blocks away.

Sasuke still felt angry as he ripped off his sling.

"I don't know what's wrong with him!" Naruto exclaimed, shoving down the window.

"With who, Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked, taking his eyes off the T.V. finally.

"Yes," Naruto shot at look at Jiraiya, and started pacing. "He yelled at me and I hardly said anything!"

"Maybe he's just having a bad day," Jiraiya suggested. "Don't get so down, I'll let you see him tomorrow." Naruto perked up, and walked over to the T.V.

"When's the last time I did the Rasengan?" Naruto asked him, shielding the television.

"Uhh, hmm… you want to practice?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sure, anything except sitting around and watching T.V."

Sasuke was standing in the middle of the living room, as he forced himself to stop shaking. He couldn't stop. He felt feverish, as he crumpled his fists for force. He clamped the ground with his toes. Nothing worked. He felt restless.

He couldn't get to sleep. He tossed and turned. What was wrong with him?

The next day, anyone who talked to him was bombarded with insults. He even made an adoring girl walk away in tears. The weird part about it was… it felt good. The more pain people showed, the more powerful he felt. He didn't like the trapped- in feeling anger gave him; but power! It made him feel invincible.

When he got home from school, he went through every vacant home and destroyed anything he wanted. Why hadn't he done this before?

When he felt content with his work, he walked back home, his feet feeling heavy.

"Sasuke," A voice called from behind. He turned around. If it was Naruto again, he was ready to beat him out of his neighborhood. But it wasn't Naruto.

"Hey, Sasuke," Sakura called with a warm smile. "I finally found you."

"What do you want?" He snapped. Sakura stopped running when he talked. She looked surprised.

"People were saying you acting different today," Sakura said, turning her shoulder to face him. "What's the matter?" She stepped forward. Sasuke growled.

"I don't find anything different," Sasuke countered.

"Well, I brought you something," Sakura said. "You know, because I thought you had hurt your arm." Sakura pulled out a plastic bag filled with tiny cookies.

"I'm not sure what you eat, but I thought maybe this would make you feel better," she held them out for him to see. He looked at them. This had caught him of guard. He grabbed the cookies, and looked to the trees on the side.

She hesitated at first, but then stepped forward. Sasuke looked at her, not picking up his head. He felt a dark shadow pass his being. However, Sakura didn't seem to notice; or she ignored it. She raised her arms, and warmed him in a hug.

Sasuke didn't react at first. His brain froze. She leaned into his head and shoulders. He looked at the back of her head. He was confused. She tightened before she let go. They stared at each other, then she smiled.

"Please brighten up, okay?"

Sasuke looked around. He turned around, and walked away. Sakura left, but Sasuke didn't notice, nor cared.

It was such a different experience to feel someone's loving touch.

He arrived in his home, and realized he wasn't shaking. He still felt a little trapped, as he threw away Sakura's cookies.

The feeling of anger gradually came back through the night. In bed, he couldn't stop thinking of the night his family was killed. He couldn't stop seeing Itachi in the shadows of his room. Every time he thought he saw him, the more it made him want to hunt him down.

The next day, Naruto went to Sasuke's place, ready for a verbal, and maybe even physical, beating. He was still wondering how Sasuke had been doing. When he found Sasuke, he had been sitting in the middle of a street, staring at a telephone pole.

How strange is that?

Naruto wasn't sure how to approach. Last time, he startled him. What could he do, that wasn't going to startle him? He sighed, and walked nosily. Sasuke turned around slowly. He looked lost. That was different.

Naruto gulped. "Hey, Sasuke,"

"Didn't I tell you to stay away?" Sasuke said forcefully.

"How's your arm?"

"Dude, will you take a hint?" Sasuke exclaimed. "Leave me alone!"

"Sasuke," Naruto said, with force that sounded parent-like. "I just wanted to come see how you were doing. All I want to see is your arm." He paused. "If not, I'll just come back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next."

"If you come back, I'll kill you," Sasuke said. He wasn't joking either. Naruto felt like he really meant that.

"Have it your way," Naruto said, turning to leave. "I'll just fight for my life."

Naruto left, but he was planning on going back. Jiraiya was writing on a sheet of loose leaf when Naruto arrived at his apartment. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"Whatcha writin'" Naruto asked, plopping down in a chair.

"I'm getting ideas for a new book, of course," Jiraiya said apathetically.

"Oh," Naruto was tired suddenly.

"How's Sasuke doing?" Jiraiya asked, looking up from his paper.

"I don't know,"

"Weren't you just there?"

"Yes, but he keeps sending me away,"

"Then stand up to him,"

"Well, I did today," Naruto said. His head was resting in his arms like a nest. "He said he'd kill me if I go back. I told him I'll keep going anyway."

"Use the Rasengan," Jiraiya said, half in the conversation. His head was hovering inches off the paper.

Naruto did return the next day. Sasuke was pacing in front of the telephone pole this time. Naruto approached him this time with his guard up. Sasuke didn't notice him until a while. Naruto was patient, but fidgety. When he did notice him, they stared at each other for a long time.

Naruto's mind was locked. Sasuke's was in a fury. His eyes proved it. He looked like he hadn't gotten good sleep in the past couple days.

"Didn't I tell you I'd end your life if you came back?" Sasuke asked dangerously.

"Didn't you hear me say I'd fight for my life?"

"You think you're so smart," Sasuke sneered. "You think you can march into my neighborhood without me being the slightest bit annoyed."

'Let him ramble on,' Naruto thought.

"You know what? You annoy me! Just the thought of you annoys me!" He flipped a couple hand signs and blew out a ball of fire. Naruto felt the heat wave over to him. He moved out of the way before it reached his spot.

When it stopped, Naruto could see it had scorched the ground. He looked at Sasuke, who looked very pleased with the surprise on Naruto's face.

Naruto wiped his mouth and strengthened his glare. Sasuke's pleased looked faded into frustration. He charged after Naruto. Naruto ran to him. What else was there to do? They raised their fists, and swung. They collided, and both were hit with a blow.

Naruto fell on his back. He looked up and Sasuke was getting up quickly. Naruto flipped to his feet, and cracked his hands. He tried to feel the rotation of the wind; to be inspired. Sasuke made various hand signs Naruto didn't recognize.

"Uh, oh," Naruto gasped with fear. The same lighting ball that Kakashi had made one class was now in Sasuke's. The sound of hundreds of birds pierced the air. Naruto gulped when Sasuke started running after him.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

"Try stopping me with shadow clones!" Sasuke shouted over the birds, and was fueled with excitement. "Lets see how fast your life ends!"

_Whip, whip, whip, whip…_

"Come on chakra!" Naruto forced. He felt the chakra swirl faster and tighter in his hand. He ran after Sasuke.

Someone came out from behind the trees.

"Stop it!" The voice shouted. Naruto glanced over to see a running Sakura. She was waving her hands, and tears framed her eyes. But it was too late. Why had she hidden for so long? Naruto and Sasuke's life were in her hands, and they had just slipped away.

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

"No, don't!" Sakura ran in between them, and held out her hands for protection. Naruto gasped. Sasuke had surprise in his eyes.

Naruto felt his head flip backwards as he flipped back. His jutsu failed, and the chakra snapped away, as he landed hard on his back. He groaned, and looked to see if Sasuke had hit Sakura. What had made him go flying backwards?

"Sasuke!" A familiar voice scolded. Naruto spit out blood, and saw Kakashi standing where Sasuke and Naruto could have collided.

_Now, wait a minute. I'll explain everything in the next chapter. How did Kakashi know and stuff. I hope I explained where Sakura came from well. Well, if you aren't good at context clues, here's what happened: Sakura had gone to see Sasuke at the same time as Naruto, but when she heard them yelling at each other, she hid behind the trees, and waited. She came out when it looked like they were about to kill each other. She likes Naruto as a friend and she loves Sasuke. Please review. _


	24. Chapter 24

_And we here we go. The official start of the __**Sasuke Retrieval arc**__! I'm not even sure if I got this part right, because my friend who's always fussing at me that I'm getting the order wrong, is at a camp right now. This was actually more enjoyable to write than I thought it would be. Just like always, __**I don't own Naruto!**_

Sasuke looked up from his elbows. Kakashi looked down at him with angry disappointment. Naruto wiped his mouth, and gulped. Sakura was standing behind Kakashi, still with frozen shock. She wasn't dead…

"I thought we had gone through this," Kakashi murmured. "A long time ago…"

Sasuke growled. Naruto started getting up, but froze when he saw Jiraiya coming from behind the trees.

"How- how did," Naruto stammered, looking at both of them rapidly. "Where did you guys come from?" Naruto asked finally.

"You followed Naruto, didn't know?" Sasuke asked, with a low glare. "It's all because Naruto kept coming everyday!" He shouted.

"And he maybe saved your life," Jiraiya said. "And his own." He looked at Naruto. Naruto couldn't tell if he was angry or not. Serious was definitely plastered on his face. Sasuke got up, and stared at everybody. Sakura peeked from behind Kakashi.

"Sasuke," she murmured fearfully. Naruto got up too.

What was going to ease the tension?

"Come on, Naruto," Jiraiya said. "Let's go home." Kakashi nodded to both in approval.

"What about Sakura?" Naruto asked. She turned her head around, and looked at Naruto. Tears were coming down her face. Naruto felt his throat lock in sorrow.

"She can some too," Jiraiya said, motioning her to come. She looked to Sasuke, Kakashi, and then walked to Naruto.

"Young lady," Kakashi called. She turned to face him. "That was a very brave thing you did." Sakura gave a weak smile, and wiped her eyes.

Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sakura left.

Sasuke had been silent. Rage and frustration blocked all thoughts. He was frozen too. Kakashi sighed, and Sasuke's thoughts started to flow again; but in a fury.

"I really didn't think it was going to come to that, Sasuke," Kakashi sighed. Sasuke felt a burst of energy. He raised his fist in the air, and aimed for Kakashi. Like a pro, Kakashi grabbed his fist. Kakashi realized it was time to explain.

"Master Jiraiya had come to get me," He started explaining. "He said Naruto had been coming here. He said you threatened to kill him. Jiraiya thought it was wise to come get me since I'm your teacher. Good thing my speed's better then Master Jiraiya's."

Sasuke pulled loose of Kakashi's grip.

"I'm not a kid," Sasuke said crossly. "So don't lecture me; because I know that's what's coming." Sasuke ran towards the trees for alone time. He didn't find that the Uchiha neighborhood was very safe for alone time at that moment. She stopped at a tree after running for a while. He kicked it in defeat.

"Nobody understands," Sasuke said to himself. "Nobody understands that I can't be as strong as I want to be."

In the alleys of a more dangerous part of Konoha City, a gang was discussing what their new mission was; assigned by their leader. However, they had cautious looks around where they met; they weren't from around Konoha City.

"So this boy is somewhere up in the better part of the city," One stated slyly. He was pale, and his long grey hair blew in the wind. All members could see his unusual mark on his forehead. He wore a loose red belt that held up his dirty, torn jeans. His short shirt showed his beaded necklace he wore constantly. Behind him was a head that looked exactly like his.

"Oh course he would," Another said matter-of-factly. "He's part one of the most important and founding families of this city." This one had the darkest skin of the four. His sleeveless shirt showed his fit arms. His belt was purple and held up his dirty grey jeans that were hung low to his hips. He had a bow strapped to his back.

"Not just important," The only girl said with a smirk. "But powerful." She had pink-red hair and tied around her head was a dirty white ribbon. She wore a black shirt underneath her thin silky cream-colored one. She also wore a purple belt that held up white leggings. In her hand was a little case that held an instrument.

"Hmm, he sounds about as close to being trash as ever," The biggest one said. He had red hair sticking out of three sides of his head. He wore a smelly work-out shirt with a strange necklace to make it look more appealing. He also wore a purple belt to keep his jeans from sliding off.

"Are you just being sarcastic again, Jirobo?" The first one asked the largest.

"Besides, nobody asked you, fatty," the girl said.

"Didn't I already tell you I don't like to be called that, Tayuya?" Jirobo complained.

"Just to change the subject, where's Kimimaro, Kidomaru?" The first asked the tannest one.

"He said he wouldn't be able to make it today," Kidomaru said. "I heard him tell you that, Sakon!"

"Hey," Sakon scolded. "You don't talk to the leader like that!"

Tayuya snorted. "Haha, who said you were the leader, Sakon?"

"Lord Orochimaru said I was the fastest and the strongest," He defended. "Does anyone recall that?"

"No," Jirobo sniffed deeply.

"Well, I did of course," Sakon said.

"Well, if anyone's co-leader because of strength, that'd be me," Tayuya said.

"Wanna bet?" Kidomaru growled.

"What? You're certainly not powerful,"

"No, but he did say I was the smartest,"

"When?" Jirobo asked. "In your dreams?" Tayuya snickered with Sakon.

"Nobody finds you funny, Jirobo," Kidomaru hissed. "So, shut up!"

"The sarcasm does get old, you know," A new voice said behind Sakon. It was his twin brother, Ukon.

"Let's stop wasting time," Tayuya said. "And let's start looking for the Uchiha kid."

There, the gang known as the Sound Four set out.

Sasuke was resting under the same tree for a while. His breathing was fast, and even rest wasn't stopping it. Suddenly, he felt a thin, clear thread strongly tying him to the tree. He struggled before he saw Kakashi holding the other end.

"I finally found you," He said, with a smile to ease the tension.

"I already told you, get lost," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said strongly. "There's something I didn't teach you about the Chidori, that's almost as important as the jutsu itself."

Sasuke stopped talking, and decided it was time to listen. He was finished trying to make people understand verbally.

"I taught it to you, thinking you wouldn't use it against your friends," Kakashi said. "It's best used to protect your friends, not attack them. And if there's something I learned too late was that friendship is more enjoyable than revenge."

"Oh yeah well-" Sasuke started.

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" Kakashi asked sharply. "It's about that certain man you want to kill." Sasuke tried not to give it away, but looked away almost making it obvious. "Revenge can be overpowering."

"I'd like to see what you'd do," Sasuke snapped. "If someone you loved and cared about died. What if I was the one who killed them? Wouldn't you come after me? And I will kill that person. I'll hunt them, just so you can see how I feel!" He panted.

Kakashi smiled weakly. "Well, you see," he sighed. "Everybody I loved and cared about is dead."

Sasuke had been looking hard at Kakashi but was know looking away. Kakashi saw a break-through in Sasuke's eyes. He loosened the rope.

"Please think about your actions a little bit more in detail next time," Kakashi recommended. He went away in a blur.

Sasuke didn't get up immediately. He felt a lot of rage sink away. He thought a lot more under that tree then he had in days.

'There couldn't be another way,' Sasuke convinced himself. 'I've never felt so calm in days through.' He realized. He didn't feel completely cured of his wrath, but more like a window had been opened, and a bunch of stuffy air was escaping from it. It felt relieving and refreshing.

"We could get there by nightfall," Kidomaru examined, angling the sun. "But who can really tell by sight?"

"I don't know," Tayuya grumbled. "We might get there by sunset."

"Oh, how would you know?" Kidomaru said.

"Shh," Sakon hissed. "I think I hear something."

"Like an animal something, or a person something?" Jirobo asked.

"Who cares," Tayuya said. "Either way, they won't be a bother." As she sneered, a rabbit jumped out of a nearby bush. "Like I said, a harmless rabbit."

"You can never be too cautious," Sakon said. "Besides, I wouldn't mind an opponent right now."

"You might get one when we find the kid," Kidomaru said, walking on without them.

Naruto walked on the harbor, as the sky got pink. Sakura had sniffled the whole way home, not wanting to talk. Naruto needed some alone time, so Jiraiya agreed to go to his own home for the night. Naruto sighed, and rolled his wrist around.

When he approached the dock, that Naruto found to be Sasuke's favorite, Naruto saw a boy sitting on a nearby bench. He smiled when he remembered when he had first found out Hinata loved him. That seemed like a billion years ago.

However, Naruto frowned when he heard the boy making noises as he chopped the air. His legs were in a cast, and crutches laid on the side of the bench. He looked slightly familiar with his bowl shaped hair, and bushy eyebrows. Naruto cocked his head to the side when he saw him kicking the air with his casted leg.

"Haaa- ow… haaa- oooww…" Naruto walked up to him.

"Hello," Naruto greeted. "Have we met?"

"I do not –haa-ow- recall," the boy said with confidence that even sounded familiar. "But if we have, you might know me as Rock Lee!"

"Rock Lee?" Naruto repeated. "Okay, and what are you doing?"

"I'm train- ow- training," He explained. "So that when I am better, I do not have to come back to speed. Guy- sensei will be so proud!"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Haa- OW!"

"I met Guy…" Naruto rested his chin on his hand. "But he said his name was Might Guy."

"Yes, that is correct," Rock Lee replied.

"Are you his nephew, or something?" Naruto asked. "Because, I had mistaken you for him."

"Ha-ha!" Lee cried in triumph. "That is my goal; to become just as great as Guy- sensei!"

"He seemed pretty… okay, I guess," Naruto said slowly, choosing his words.

"Guy- sensei said he has run a marathon on his hands before," Lee said proudly.

"How do you know him, again?" Naruto asked.

"He is my karate teacher," Lee said. He grabbed his crutches and tried to stand up. "Good night to you!"

"My name's Naruto,"

"And I hope we can meet again in the future," Lee said with boldness. When he turned around, something stopped him in his tracks.

"Naruto!" Someone called his name. He saw Sakura running down the shadowed street. She was waving to him.

"Sakura," Naruto murmured.

"Sakura," Lee repeated, like it was the most important thing to him. "What an incredible name for an incredible woman!"

"Huh?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto," Sakura said, finally approaching the two boys. "I wasn't able to talk to you before. Uhh… " She looked at Lee.

"Lee maybe you should leave," Naruto suggested. He placed his hands on Lee's shoulders, and tried to push him along. Nevertheless, Lee pulled away.

"I have never laid eyes on such a beautiful person!" Lee said to her, trying to smooth out his voice.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said with a dangerous tone.

"Lee, you should _go_," Naruto murmured to him.

"I want you to understand that my heart is now out to you," Lee proclaimed. Naruto was shocked. Naruto was never this up front with Sakura about his love. "And if I can, I will protect you from anything!"

"Uhh," Sakura didn't know what to say. How abrupt was this? "Do I know you?"

"You do now," Lee said. He winked.

Sakura shivered. "Naruto, I don't know who your friend is, but I think he should leave."

"Yes, Lee," Naruto said. "It's getting dark."

"Then let me escort you home," Lee suggested. "I will wait over there." He waddled over to a far off tree on his crutches.

"Geez," Sakura grumbled. "What a weirdo."

"I just met him," Naruto assured her. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to know everything,"

"Hunh?"

"About what has been going on with Sasuke,"

"Look, I think you know as much as me," Naruto said, starting to walk off. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"Please, Naruto!" she exclaimed. "Tell me everything."

"Basically, me and Sasuke were going to Kakashi for lessons on jutsu and whatnot. I guess Sasuke learned the lighting jutsu after I was expelled." He shrugged. "Anything else?"

"That man was your teacher?" Sakura asked.

"Which one?" Naruto asked. "Because they're both my teachers."

"Do you really think I was brave out there?" She asked Naruto, blushing. "I really didn't want to see both of you die. I hate to admit it, but I do think of you as a friend, Naruto." She smiled.

Naruto felt warm inside; comfortably warm. "Well, uhh, most girls would have hid if she thought she were about to die, right?"

"I guess so," she sighed. "Anyway, I'll see you around, Naruto." She started walking off, but had forgotten about Lee.

"You are finished now?"

"Ha!" She screamed, and accidently hit him in the face. "Ohmigosh, I'm really sorry!"

"That's okay," Lee said smoothly. "I will walk you home anyway. Though my face is throbbing…"

Naruto chuckled. Sakura's hair blew in the wind, making her look beautiful from the back. Her shirt was being tugged in the wind. Naruto wished he could be as up front with her as Lee was.

"Perfect timing," Sakon observed from a hill. "The sun's almost down, and we're only minutes away from the Uchiha neighborhood."

"Hope he doesn't struggle," Tayuya complained. "Maybe he'll want to come with us."

"Yes, because we look very friendly and appealing to a kid, don't we Tayuya?" Jirobo said sarcastically.

"Wasn't asking you, fatty,"

"Don't call me that,"

"Get a grip," Sakon scolded. "We're almost there."

"Lord Orochimaru will have his new body in no time," Kidomaru said confidently.

_ Don't worry. Sasuke will get his curse mark. Yeah that's right, I forgot to make him get it. At first I was going to avoid it, since I didn't do the Chunin Exams Arc (Does Chunin two N's?). Then then I realized the last battle of Naruto and Sasuke isn't going to be as enjoyable without Second State Sasuke (Curse seal). If you have any question, and even if you don't, please review!By the way, please excuse any really bad type-o's, I don't have my usual editor. (Again, he's at camp!)_


	25. Chapter 25

_Please enjoy. I have everything under control guys, don't worry. The Sasuke Retrieve team will be complete, I promise. And I have good reasons for them teaming up. But I'm getting ahead of myself, this is only the Sound Four- vs –Sasuke part. __**I don't own Naruto!**_

"I think this is the last one," A voice rasped from the front of Sasuke's home. Sasuke had been lying in bed, half awake; not really contemplating on anything. He had been toying with the soft covers, but he felt a fury when he heard the voice.

"No, there's another block down there, retard!" This was a different voice. Sasuke jumped up, and felt sharpness that he had felt when he had been learning Chidori.

'Darn it,' he thought. 'I must be using the Sharingan.'

"Go look in the bedrooms, Jirobo," The first voice commanded. Heavy footsteps headed for the hallway. Sasuke stood by the door, listening intently. He leaned hard against that wall. A head stuck into the room.

Sasuke made his fist thrust into the man's face. His head wasn't a hard target; this guy was huge! His clothes were dirty and smelly.

"Hey, I found him," the man called with a smirk that made Sasuke feel like this guy knew more then him. What about, though?

"Good work, Jirobo," A girl popped her head around the corner and smiled.

"Get out," Sasuke commanded. Another person turned the corner with an identical looking person next to him.

"Oh, feisty, are we?" The girl teased.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, starting to walk numbly and slowly out of his room.

"I'm Tayuya," She greeted, pressing her hand daintily on her chest. "This is Jirobo." She pointed to the large man on the ground.

"I really don't think it's a good idea to tell him all our names," Sakon whispered in her ear.

"He'll learn them sooner or later," She smiled. "Besides, we're proud of our names, aren't we?"

"I'm Sakon," he greeted through a sneer.

"I'm his twin, Ukon," Ukon jumped in before Sakon could steal the moment.

"Where's Kidomaru?" Jirobo asked.

"I don't really care where he is," Sasuke growled. "Go away."

"We can't," a new voice said. "I'm Kidomaru and-"

"I know," Sasuke said. "Now, get out."

"I don't think you heard Kidomaru," Sakon said, walking up to Sasuke. "We can't leave without you." Sasuke lowered his glare as Sakon sized his up.

"You're a street gang," Sasuke inferred. "Do you carry any weapons?"

"Like we'd tell you," Ukon jumped in again.

"Who sent you anyway?"

"None of your business," Sakon said. Sasuke could smell his sour breath. Sasuke felt his nerves tingle with aggravation. He pushed Sakon away.

"I really don't care what you're doing," Sasuke said. "Leave my neighborhood." Sakon smiled bitterly and pushed Sasuke harder than expected. He fell to the ground.

"We're not leaving without you, kid," He said with a sharp-toothed grin.

"Sakon, get a hold of it," Tayuya exclaimed. Sasuke had noticed a difference in his voice only after she had said that. His teeth seemed to shorten after her out burst.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"What was what?" Sakon asked.

"You're driving me nuts!" Sasuke shouted, focused on his chakra, and blew out a throat-soaring fireball. When the heat went away, and the smoke cleared, the gang had disappeared. Sasuke panted, on his toes. He spun around, but nothing was there.

Sasuke ran into the hallway and looked up and down. There were two more bedrooms and a bathroom in the hallway. They could have escaped to the front room if they had wanted to. Sasuke whipped into the rooms first.

Nothing.

He searched the front room with caution. An arrow zoomed across the room. It passed an inch past Sasuke's face. He turned to see where it came from. Kidomaru was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a bow and arrow.

"Why don't you carry a gun?" Sasuke asked. "Wouldn't that be more logical?"

"Logic is my middle name," Kidomaru joked. He joked with Sasuke like a cat holding a mouse captive. "And I could strike my opponent with more accuracy than with a gun."

"That doesn't seem very logical to me," Sasuke said, holding his distance. "Let's test your aim."

"You asked for it," He flipped his arm back and retrieved an arrow. He pulled it back on the bow, and then halted. Sasuke stayed still ready to dodge.

"What's your problem?" Sasuke asked.

"Bam!" He exclaimed, and shot an arrow. Sasuke slipped to the side. He heard the whistle of the arrow soaring past his ear. Two more came, but Sasuke had to lean backwards, and land on his hands to miss them. He flipped up, catching speed and distance. He was close enough for taijutsu.

He swung he arm to hit his head, but Kidomaru was smarter than that. He leaned back, and tripped Sasuke in the knees. Coming over the counter top was Tayuya. She was aiming her land on Sasuke's shoulders. Sasuke rolled to the side, and missed by a couple inches. Her foot had scraped his back, but he had gotten away safely.

Sasuke kicked her in the gut. She toppled over into Kidomaru. This was a gap in time; time to escape these creeps. He ran out of the house.

Sakon was sitting on the roof with Ukon at his side.

"Wonderful," Sasuke murmured. Sakon jumped down with Ukon in unison. They smirked at Sasuke, who was walking backwards for a head start.

"We really don't have to fight," Ukon said. Sasuke only knew it was Ukon because of his voice and the way he acted.

"Don't listen to him," Sakon shrugged. "I love a good fight." Sasuke glared at both of them, who were creeping up slowly towards him. He bumped in something soft, but with a hard base. He spun around to see he had backed into Jirobo.

"You guys are everywhere," Sasuke growled. Jirobo grabbed Sasuke's wrists and lifted him off the ground. Sasuke struggled, but it only made his wrists raw. Sakon walked up into his face, with Ukon right behind him.

"Let's go," Sakon ordered, talking to Jirobo but looking at Sasuke. Sasuke kicked Sakon in the face. Sakon recoiled, but Sasuke used his chest as a launch pad. He flipped over, and kicked Jirobo in the head. Jirobo released him, and he ran into the thick forest of trees that separated Sasuke from the world.

"I can't believe this," Tayuya called as she ran outside. "He's stubborn."

"My poor face," Jirobo murmured under his massaging hand.

"Let's keep going," Sakon offered. Ukon snickered at the black mark on Sakon's pale skin.

"Maybe we shouldn't try such a direct approach," Kidomaru suggested. "He's a kid after all."

"Well this certainly isn't working. It's worth a try," Sakon said.

"Let me go find him," Tayuya said. "I'm the gentle one after all." She glanced at Jirobo. "Suck it up, fatty."

Sasuke ran until he reached the apartment building. The trees were thinner than they looked. He had run for about twenty minutes. He hadn't heard or seen the street gang. Maybe they were more stupid than Sasuke thought.

He lay down on the cold cement and stared at the stars. He heard his heartbeat, but he tried to hear for footsteps.

"Is it safe to go into the city?" Kidomaru asked behind Tayuya, who had taken lead.

"Yeah, just don't use that freaky look you give people," Tayuya said, jumping from the trees. She ran down the harbor. She breathed in the air.

"What are you doing?"

"He's been here," Tayuya informed. "See, footprints…" She pointed to the sand. "It leads up into the grass. Maybe he headed for the city."

"What a baby," Sakon murmured.

"Come on," Tayuya waved. "And smile at everyone you see."

"No way!" Ukon and Jirobo protested.

"I was kidding, come on,"

Sasuke lifted his head and saw five figures walking in his direction. He jumped up, and decided he was safe in public, so he waited for them. Tayuya led them.

"Look," she said as softly as she could. "What do you have to lose if you come with us?"

Sasuke stood there and thought. What did he have? He didn't have any bonds he could think of. Naruto and Sakura flashed in his head, but he closed his eyes and shook them away. Itachi was in town, but he almost killed himself picking a fight with him; but he wasn't losing his goal. The battle was lost, but not the war. He sighed… nothing powerful came to mind.

"If you come with us…" Tayuya said, leaning her head back, giving her a young and trusting look. "You will gain everything. More then most people gain in a lifetime." Sasuke looked at the five.

"I don't want to gain what you guys have gained," Sasuke countered. "Whatever it is, it doesn't look like much." Tayuya held back her outburst.

"If we showed what we have gained," she said, holding back a smirk. "Then everyone would want it. Duh."

"Okay, what have you gained?" Sasuke asked, not believing yet. "And why would you want me to have it?" Sakon laughed.

"We can't show you out here," Sakon said. "Wow, maybe you're more stupid than I thought." Sasuke lowered his glare.

"Well, I don't believe you," Sasuke said. "So you had better show me if you want me to come with you." Tayuya didn't hold back an annoyed smile this time.

"Okay, brat, lets go into that forest you had cowered in," she headed slowly toward the harbor. Sasuke waited for Jirobo to turn around, but he never did.

"Come on," Sasuke sneered. "Let's go."

"You're going ahead," Jirobo ordered. "You're not leaving my sight." Sasuke walked ahead reluctantly, not letting Jirobo out of his sight either.

Sakon's eyes glowed in the shadows of the trees. Everyone else was waiting in the moonlight. The sun wasn't showing yet, but its rings of light shone over the horizon.

"Before we do anything," Sasuke said. "What is this all about?"

"What do you mean?" Tayuya asked.

"Why do you want me?"

"We can tell him, can't we, Sakon?" Tayuya whined. He shrugged. "Our leader wants you. Don't ask me how he knows who you are, because he doesn't like to explain himself."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Orochimaru," She said. His name seemed to roll of her lips, and slither over to Sasuke. He recognized the criminal's name; he had achieved disturbing but incredible things. "He's the under-cover mayor of where we're from, and leader of our street gang."

"Where are you from?"

"You ask too many questions," Sakon complained. "Don't answer that."

"We're bringing him there," Tayuya explained. "Why not tell him where he's going?" Sakon's lip rose in aggravation. "We're from Oto City."

"That's a very infamous city," Sasuke said.

"So you've heard," Tayuya frowned. "Yes, but it holds a lot of promise."

"For criminals," Sasuke said with disgust. "Which I'm not."

"You haven't even heard the best part," Sakon said. "Lord Orochimaru is the key to our power-"

"What power?" Sasuke asked. "All I see is a bunch of dirty street gangers."

"You just crossed the thin line of respect," Sakon sneered. He walked up to Sasuke with fury. He grabbed Sasuke's shirt collar and pinched his neck. He lifted him up. Sasuke's surprise led him to clenching Sakon's wrists and looking down at Sakon with hatred in his eyes. He felt his feet dangling painfully.

"Ack,"

"Sakon, put him down," Tayuya whined, like picking up someone from the ground by their collar was common. "He's not going to follow us with threats."

"He doesn't think we're powerful?" Sakon seethed. "Then let him see it!" He dropped Sasuke to the ground. He motioned Kidomaru over, as he placed his foot on Sasuke's chest. He leaned down on his knee and smiled.

"Punishment," he whispered.

Kidomaru came over quizzically. "What?"

"Aim," Sakon said, pointing two fingers at Sasuke's head. Kidomaru armed himself, and aimed for Sasuke's head and hesitated.

"Sakon!" Tayuya shouted, pushing him off of Sasuke. "That's not fair. Test his skill fairly." She smirked. Sakon grabbed Sasuke's arm and threw him.

"Get up!" He commanded. Sasuke got up slowly. Sasuke was mad. The heat of the early fresh sun was peeking over the horizon. He felt the light, and took it in for power. He breathed in and blew put a fireball.

"That didn't work before," A voice said behind him. He spun, but only to be punched in the side of the face by Sakon. "Then why do it again?"

"Shut up!" Sasuke screamed. He charged up a Chidori in his hand, and stared at Sakon for his reaction. Sakon smiled with satisfaction. Sasuke didn't want to see satisfaction, he felt the same feeling as he had a couple days before; he wanted to see fright, surprise, anything but a smile.

He roared as he ran towards Sakon. He raised the Chidori. Sakon didn't move. He analyzed, and when Sasuke was about to strike, he grabbed his wrist, and pulled him to his face.

"Is that it?" Sakon asked with a smirk. "A light show?" He twisted Sasuke's wrist, making him lose the jutsu, and …he just gave up, for a second. He needed to reboot.

'I can't land a move on these guys,' he thought limply. 'Maybe they do have something I want. I want power… so I can complete my goal.' He looked up at Sakon. Sakon was surprised to see pride in his eyes. He smiled.

'Just one more try,'

He swung his fist into the back of Sakon's head. Sakon knocked heads with Sasuke. Sakon released his grip.

"Different approach, guys," He said turning around. Tayuya gasped. Why was he so quick to use his mark? When Sakon turned around, Sasuke gasped also.

"What the heck… are you?" He asked.

_ That was pretty good for someone who doesn't like the Sound Four, if I do say so myself. I like writing as Sakon and Tayuya more than anyone on the Four. I'm not getting as many reviews as I thought I would be… sniff. _ so please spread the fame! Oh, and review._


	26. Chapter 26

_Here we go… a sad chapter. It was actually pretty fun to write. Everything getting so close to the manga it's probably redundant for you guys. But I try to add that modern and even Sakutada twist to it. I also try to make you go into the characters minds, which doesn't always happen in the manga. _

_ Anyway __**I don't own Naruto! **_

Sasuke's knees had weakened. He dropped to the cold, moist grass. He stared up at Sakon, who was looming over him. His face was now patterned with a wave of black dots. They slowly crossed his face. Sasuke was slowly creeping away on his hands.

"This mark," Sakon started to explain in a different sinister tone. "It gives us power. Power most people never see in their lifetime! You should have never doubted our power, you little brat!" He was about to lunge on top of him, when Tayuya slowly walked up to Sakon and shoved him back.

"Are you out of your mind?" She hissed. "If we bring him back damaged, Lord Orochimaru might get really angry with us."

"So what?" Sakon asked. He was getting energized by an energy that Sasuke could feel stiffen the air. "He deserves getting what I have for him." He tried pushing Tayuya away, but she pushed him back.

"I'm going to get punished for something you're going to do!" Tayuya shouted. Jirobo reached over and conked Sakon on top of the head. Sakon's eyes rolled back into his head, and he dropped limply to the ground.

Tayuya sighed stressfully. "Thank you," Sasuke got up, and wiped his hands on his knees.

"What does that mark do?" Sasuke asked a little spooked. Tayuya turned around.

"Once it's fully sunken into Sakon's chakra," Tayuya said softly. "It can give his chakra so much power, he gets a little loopy. Not just loopy, but really powerfully too."

"You're talking about it like he's the only one with it," Kidomaru complained. "He's not so special."

"Who else has it?" Sasuke asked.

"You do ask a lot of questions," Kidomaru mumbled.

"We all do," Tayuya said, after ordering Jirobo to carry Sakon.

"So, will you come with us?" Ukon asked, as he helped Jirobo swing Sakon over his shoulder. Sasuke looked at the harbor.

_"What were you doing?" _Naruto's voice shouted at him. The night Naruto had thought he had been committing suicide wavered into his head.

_"You had me thinking you were suicidal!"_

_ "Why would you have cared?" _Sasuke closed his eyes when he thought about what Naruto had done. Why hadn't Naruto answered his question that night?

_"Sasuke, why did you do that?" _He had acted concerned. Sasuke looked back at the five. They waited, with their stare frozen on him.

"Give me time to pack my things," Sasuke said, with finality in his voice. "I'll meet you tonight a couple miles past the gate. I promise I'll be there." He stared back at them for a minute. They had victory in their eyes. Sasuke walked back slowly, packing up ever memory along with him.

When he arrived at him home, he stared at the doorway; probably for the last time. Was he really going to follow these… criminals? He sighed.

'Whatever it takes to bring down Itachi,' He thought. He walked inside boldly as he thought of Itachi. He packed the most-need items. It wasn't that much; he placed it inside his gym bag that was light and easy to carry over his shoulder.

He decided maybe he should get one last look at the town.

Sakura stretched in her warm bed. She glanced at the window. The sun shined brightly as she listened to her bones crack. She shivered at the sound.

She looked at her crinkled covers as she thought about Sasuke. Maybe she should go and see him. However, maybe he didn't want to be bothered. But then maybe he was feeling rejected. However, he could want to be left alone… She sighed. How confusing…

She decided it would be better to see him in the evening.

Naruto was walking out of the apartment building; he pulled his sweatshirt over his head. He glanced towards the harbor. A shady bunch was watching into the forest. Naruto could only see their silhouettes.

He walked to the trees that thickened around the entrance of the path towards Sasuke's home. He thought maybe he should go see how he was doing. He turned around and walked the other way.

If he had wanted him dead yesterday, he would want him dead today.

He walked into the city, just because it was something different to do. He walked into one of his favorite places; Ichiraku Ramen Restaurant. It wasn't really a restaurant; it was more like a shop. You walked into to a window-walled building that was in the shape of a square. Naruto walked past the tables you could sit at and up to the ordering counter.

He placed an elbow on the counter as he waited for someone to walk up. He whistled impatiently. When no one came he called- "Hello! Is anyone there?"

A woman, who looked rushed and bustled, came out, repositioning her headband. She panted for a couple seconds before saying "Welcome to Ichiraku, what would you like today?"

Naruto glanced up at the menu hung over her head. She waited patiently, her hands placed in front of her apron. Naruto searched the menu for miso ramen. Then he saw egg rolls. His mouth watered.

"Hmm…" He contained his drippy saliva and swallowed. "Can I have a bowl of miso ramen?"

"Miso ramen, coming right up!" She announced. She rushed into the double doors she had come from. He sat at one of the stools at the counter. He looked around the store. He sighed impatiently.

"Miso!" A man called, as he came carefully out of the double doors. He held a bowl of steaming ramen. Naruto jumped, and positioned himself to face the counter. The man placed the bowl down. Naruto looked up at the man and smiled.

"You don't know how long I've missed the taste of this ramen," He said, drooling. He reached across the counter and snapped apart wooden chop sticks. The man looked pleasurable and walked to the cash register. Naruto paid the man with him telling him how much it was. He knew.

He slurped up the smooth ramen as drops of broth splattered around the counter.

"Business seems slow," He said to the man. The man sighed.

"I know," he said sorrowfully, his eyes suddenly sad. "We use to be packed."

"I know!" Naruto said. "I remember!" Naruto greedily finished off his last short noodles. The man watched him drink up the last of his spiced ramen. Naruto slammed his bowl down as he sighed in his last smell of ramen.

"That was really good," Naruto giggled happily. He stepped off his stool as another costumer came in.

"Hey, Naruto," They said. Naruto stared for a moment as he recognized his teacher, Mr. Umino.

"Hey, Mr. Umino," He waved numbly. "I haven't seen you in a long time."

Iruka sighed. "Yes, I know." Naruto stood there embarrassed as Iruka ordered.

"I-I have to tell you," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I only got expelled 'cause-"

"Naruto, that's your business," Iruka stopped him with his hand held up. "You did it with your own reasons." Naruto looked down blushing.

"In fast words, I'm sorry," Naruto said.

"I'm not sure why you did it, but I have to say its fine, if you're truly sorry," Iruka said. Naruto looked at Iruka with a new light. He was pretty wise.

"Thanks," Naruto said, feeling a little relieved. He walked out of the store. "I've got things to do." It was just a habit to lie to him still.

"Good-bye,"

Naruto breathed in the cool wind blowing into the city. He felt a sudden uneasiness. He looked up at the sky. Something didn't feel right… maybe it had been because he had just saw Mr. Umino. He nodded and headed towards home.

Sakura sat in front of the T.V. avoiding the uneasy fact that she had homework hanging over her head. She rested her head lazily on her fist. She had gotten bored with the soap operas lately; they seemed too much like her own life. Before she had watched them, wishing they were her life.

Now, she replaced it with the weather lady. She was always dressed in a ridiculous fashion. Sakura only watched her because of it.

"And tomorrow, pack up our umbrellas, because it's going to be a rainy one," She announced, gesturing the green clouds across the screen. If only she could predict what would happen tomorrow in Sakura's life besides the weather.

The rest of the day passed by uneasily for Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. They waited for something to happen, or for it to be over. Sasuke and Sakura waited anxiously for the evening. Naruto couldn't wait until he was sleepy.

Sasuke swung his bag over his shoulder and walked past all the trees for the last time. He could have walked out of that neighborhood with his eyes closed; he was ready for something different.

As Sasuke made his way down the road, Sakura was coming up the road. When she saw him, she got nervous and jumped into the thick wall of trees. He didn't seem to notice; he seemed to be thinking about something.

Sakura decided when she'd figure out where he was going; she'd have to think of something to do besides stalk him. She silently but shakily followed him. When the trees disappeared she waited to see where he was going.

He turned the corner where Naruto's apartment building went. Maybe he was visiting Naruto? She shook her head at that idea, while successfully getting a strain of hair caught in her mouth.

She kept going after he was almost out of sight. She hid behind buildings and started to get worried when he past up the thickest part of the city, and then past the thinnest part. This city was bigger than she thought.

She was going farther and farther away from home, and she was basically alone. Sasuke, hopefully, didn't know she was there. She kept looking over her shoulder before she would go further.

Sasuke stopped in front of the opening highway. It was getting close to the night, but the road was still busier than she thought it would have been. A wall bordered the cities limits, but an archway led the way to the city. Sasuke was just standing in front of the archway, frozen.

She jumped when he said. "I know you've been following me." She looked behind her, just to make sure he was talking to her.

"Sakura stop hiding, I know you're there,"

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" She asked, her voice cracking from not have talked for so long.

He sighed and hesitated. "I am leaving, Sakura," he answered without turning around. Sakura couldn't take that in.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not coming back," His voice was stern.

"Why?" Sakura asked, and pleaded for answers. "Why are you leaving? Everyone's going to miss you!"

"Besides you and Naruto," Sasuke said. "Who else will even notice I'm gone?" Sakura thought… he did have a bad rap in town. She shook her head.

"What about that man?" Sakura asked. "He was there, and he saved my life!"

"You mean Kakashi," Sasuke said, the sternness never leaving his voice.

"And… all the girls at school, they all adore you, Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, tears starting to form. She blinked. "Sasuke, I don't know what I'll do with you!"

"Well, you seemed to be pretty well off anyway," Sasuke said.

Tears were rolling heavily down her face. She was clenching her hands beneath her chin. She was shaking uncontrollable. "If you go-"she stammered sorrowfully. She hiccupped.

Sasuke waited.

"If you go, I'll scream!" Sasuke turned around. Sakura gasped back tears, but it just made them come harder.

"You'll scream…" he repeated.

"Someone will stop, and make you stay!" the corners of her mouth turned down, and she couldn't stop. Sasuke closed his eyes and had a small smile on his face. It wasn't a mean smile, it was just a smile. For the memories…

He turned and started walking up to her. She held her lungs tight so she wouldn't hiccup again. He was gone in a flash.

"Sakura," he whispered. He was suddenly behind her. She froze of surprise and sadness. "Thank you… for everything." She had a spark of hope spring out of her heart. However, she collapsed and didn't know whether Sasuke left or stayed.

_Sakura… thank you… for everything_…

It seemed to echo for eternity in her mind, as she lay in the cold grass unconscious.

_Hmm… I have this great idea. You'll never guess what'll happen. I'll make sure Sakura doesn't get into too much trouble. I got this really great idea for her! I wanna write the next chapter so bad… but if I write it too soon it might come out bad. So hold on everybody!_


	27. Chapter 27

_This chapter isn't short, but it's short. Sorry! But I build up a lot of story in this chapter. Normally, I aim for writing over 2,000 words per chapter, but this one is (minus the A/N) 1995. But… *sigh* just read. __**I don't know Naruto!**_

Sakura felt warm covers over her aching body. She shoved her head farther into her pillow. She felt cozy and warm. She breathed in heavily. Then, something didn't feel right. Her pillow had a smell. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't hers. Her eyes shot open.

Her body ached as she stretched. She cracked her toes, still soaking in the fact it wasn't her bed. She closed her eyes, about to go to sleep again; however, she sat up quickly as her heart rate sped up. She threw the covers off of her, and looked around.

Where the heck was she?

She heard something clinking in from somewhere; like someone was active in the kitchen, wherever it was. She swung her legs around the bed, and quietly walked out of the bedroom into a small office looking area.

There was a door to her left. Whoever was making noise was in there. She peeked her head around the side of the door frame.

She gasped. It was the man that had saved her from the collision of Sasuke and Naruto. He was reading a book as he reached up into a cabinet to get a mug. She spun around and nibbled on her nails nervously.

Why was she in his house? Where had she been last? She rubbed the back of her aching neck. A pain shot up to her head, and she collapsed onto the ground. Now she remembered.

Tears leaked down her face.

The man looked around the doorframe and at her on the ground. He looked at her with sympathy. She rubbed her eyes, and then looked back.

"Where am I?" she asked confused.

"Do you need help getting up?" He asked. She grasped the wall and climbed up.

"Who are you?"

He sighed. "Do want something to drink?" She looked at her feet.

"If you'll explain everything," she said. 'And I'll make sure you're not some weirdo…'

She sat at the counter as he made her coffee. She had never tasted real coffee, but she wasn't about to say anything.

"So," he started. "Before we go on, please explain why you were unconscious on the side of the road."

She looked at her swirling coffee he had slid over to her. He waited patiently. She felt comfortable; he was on the other side of the counter. She sighed, and waited for the lump in her throat to go away.

"I tried to stop him," she murmured, her throat hurting from holding back tears. "Sasuke… he was leaving." She noticed that he was wearing something different than when he had been outside of the house. His jacket had been replaced with a navy blue shirt that covered his neck and the bottom part of his face.

He looked a little upset when she said that. He sighed. "He must have not listened to me before." She wasn't sure why he had a coffee mug if he wore a shirt like he did.

"My name is Sakura," she said, gulping. It was a little weird that she told him this so quickly. She, however, got a feeling of hospitality from him. She also convinced herself she could run away when ever she wanted. "What's yours?" She felt like a little kid saying that, but she hoped he understood no one else was there to listen.

"My name's Kakashi," he said, and smiled. "I could understand if you were confused right now."

She nodded, and sipped her first taste of coffee. She politely swallowed it, but regretted not spitting it out. It was too hot and bitter!

"I don't understand why Sasuke wanted to leave," she said. "He thanked me, but I'm not sure why he did."

"I talked to him before he left," Kakashi said. "He sounded kind of angry and confused. I don't think it was personal towards anyone." He sighed. "Well, maybe it was towards this certain man he wants to kill."

Sakura gasped. "He wants to kill someone?"

"I haven't really figured out whom," Kakashi said. "But I'm almost positive it's his brother."  
"You mean the one that killed his whole family?" Sakura asked. Kakashi nodded.

"I have to ask," he said. Sakura cocked her head to the side a little. "How come you were unconscious on the side of the highway?"

"I told you," she said, getting annoyed. "I tried to stop Sasuke."

"But stopping someone doesn't conclude in collapsing," Kakashi countered. She looked at the ground.

"I'm not sure," she answered quietly. "But I think he knocked me out."

"It might have been his only option," Kakashi said. Sakura sighed, and sucked in her lips. "Do you want to call your parents?"

"Are you kidding me?" she cried. "They're gonna kill me for being out so late!"

"Well, something's got to happen," Kakashi said. Sakura slouched in defeat. She knew he was right. "I'll call them for you…"

"No, you might make it worse," she said, and realized how rude it had sounded. "I mean, if you call up, saying I'm here, they're gonna think of things…"

"I got it," he said. He looked around. "You have any friends I could drop you off at their house or something?" Sakura almost said Ino, but stopped. They had been so bitter towards each other lately, that she wasn't sure she'd even ask her.

"I could call Naruto," she offered. "He's bound to say I can stay. They won't think anything weird about me at Naruto's house, hopefully." Kakashi nodded.

"It's probably the least I could do," he said. "Besides picking you up off the side of the road and bringing you here." She smiled a little.

"Thank you," she said. "Mr. Kakashi."

"Umm… you can just call me Kakashi,"

"Right…"

She called Naruto, who was just waking up. He groggily agreed to letting her stay.

"So, how do you know Naruto and Sasuke?" she asked, as she rode beside Kakashi in his grey truck. He looked down the road, asking her where to go in between conversation.

"I taught them," he said. "Well, I was supposed to help them out, or something. But I thought it might have been a lot more interesting for all of us if we learned something productive."

"What did you teach them?" she asked. "Take a left."

"I taught them combat," he answered. "But Sasuke didn't learn much, I think. Though I did teach him the Chidori." Sakura saw regret in his eyes.

"That's a jutsu, isn't it?" she asked, looking at the sky starting to darken from the thick rainclouds.

"Yes,"

"I don't see why we don't learn things about ninjas and stuff in school," she said, crossing her arms. "I like learning about them, like the history."

"Do you?"

"I heard they don't because parents complained it was too… like, violent or something," she looked at Kakashi for a minute. "Why did you think Naruto should learn about combat?"

"Hmm, well there was something special about him," Kakashi said, stopping at a red light.

"I know what you mean…" Sakura said. "Kakashi…" She hesitated for a minute and sighed. "Can you teach me combat?"

Kakashi glanced at her. "Are you sure your parents will agree?" They sounded strict to him, and the last thing he needed were angry parents at his doorstep.

"I don't need to tell them, do I?" she asked, trying her best to make her voice sound pleading and cute. Kakashi sighed. He sat up in his seat, and reaching into his jean pocket. He pulled out a card.

"My number's on there," he said, handing it to her, as he drove past the green light. She read the card.

"Thank you," she said, placing it roughly in her pocket. "I promise I'll talk to my parents about it." It was hard to get that sentence out, because it was a lie.

"I'm just curious," Kakashi started. Sakura held back a sigh. He was always looking for answers. "But why do you want to learn combat so suddenly?"

She stared at the clouds towering over the city. They flashed, and a loud boom crossed the area. She thought hard, and searched harder for an answer. When she found one, it was kind of embarrassing. She let the light drops of rain sound through the car, like tears.

"I want to bring Sasuke back," she answered. "No matter how long it takes, and maybe if I'm stronger, then I can do it alone."

"Alone?"

"I'm planning on telling Naruto," she said seriously. "I mean, he'll want to know."

"Right," Kakashi agreed. He parked on the curb in front of Naruto's apartment building.

"Thank you again," she said, stepping out of the car.

"No problem," He smiled.

"I'll call you soon, okay?"

"Sure," he reached over and closed the door, then rolled down the window. "Better get in soon, the rains starting to come down hard."

"Bye," she waved as she ran inside.

Naruto was waiting inside for Sakura. He rubbed his eyes, and waved lazily.

"Hey, Sakura," he said, and yawned.

"Hello," she greeted. He was cradling a cat in his arms. "What an adorable cat!" she squealed. A wave of admiration swept over her and she squeezed the cat's face.

"His name's Cat," Naruto said, rubbing behind the cat's ear. "I had to bring him inside, since it started to rain."

"Can we go to your apartment?"

"I can't bring Cat up there. It's the rules," he was being so gentle, Sakura didn't know it was in Naruto.

She sat down, and motioned Naruto to sit next to her. He sat in the seat she had patted on.

"What's up?" He asked, noticing the concern in Sakura's eyes.

'That stupid lump…' she thought, shaking her head. 'I can't cry in front of Naruto. No… I'll bring it up later.'

"So where's that dude that walked me home with you?" Sakura asked, changing the subject.

"He's in my apartment," Naruto said, his face in a goofy slouched position. "Sleeping."

'At least he's here,' Sakura thought.

"Naruto," she started. Her voice cracked.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" His hands reached slowly to her shoulder. He never touched her though. She shook her head, and gulped.

'I won't cry!' she thought strongly.

"Naruto," she repeated. "Sasuke… he… he left."

"Left?" Naruto asked confused. "What do you mean?" He released the squirming Cat.

"I mean," She hated tears. They built up around her eyes, making Naruto's expression hard to interrupt. "I mean he's gone. He left the city."

Naruto stared at Sakura blankly for a minute. "What? Why?"

"I- I don't know," she blinked and the tears started to cascade. "Darn it, Naruto, you made me cry again!" She giggled a little. She punched his arm gently.

"Sakura, when did he leave?" He asked urgently.

"Last night," she said, wiping her eyes. "You'll never believe who found me; Kakashi."

"Sakura, we have to go find Sasuke!" He jumped up, his fist next to his chest. She grabbed his wrist gently, bringing back to reality.

"I don't know where he went," Sakura said. "Or where he's gone."

"We have to go find him!"

"Naruto," she exclaimed, tears shining in her eyes. "I don't know what you're going to do." She realized a couple minutes ago, she had said to Kakashi she was willing to find Sasuke by herself if she had to; now she was convincing Naruto it was hopeless. Which was hopeless.

"Sakura," he said boldly. "I don't know how much you love Sasuke, but I know what kind of bond I have with him." He had fierceness in his eyes that made her feel… encouraged and inspired.

"I'm going to go find Sasuke!"

"Hold on, Naruto," she said standing up. "You're not going alone!"

'What am I saying?' she thought. 'Am I really serious about this?'

Naruto ran up the steps that led to his apartment. Sakura followed. Naruto and Sakura were about to get more help than they ever thought they would.

_Like I said… I'm trying to get Sakura in the least amount of trouble, which is hard, since she's been out past the night. I mean, I have a plan, but… you don't know it yet! Kakashi's hard to write for. He's got this feeling and way of acting that I can't portray right… If I could change one thing in my whole fanfiction so far, it's the way I portrayed Kakashi. Remember when one whole chapter was in Naruto's point of view?_

_Look forward to the next chapter. I form The Sasuke Retrieval Team!_


	28. Chapter 28

_Sorry I haven't posted in a while. This chapter was another transition chapter. Then again, my editor and I had a huge laugh through out the whole thing. I was rolling on the floor with his comments. I wish I could have recorded them… but anyway only one warning. The point of views change abruptly- so don't get confused. _

_**I don't own Naruto. **_

Naruto ran up the flight of stairs faster than Sakura thought possible. He ran his fingers near the stairs, cat-like. They almost ran into someone as they rounded the corner to Naruto's apartment. Naruto slammed the door open, and ran inside frantically.

He wasn't sure why he was rushing; it made him think about his next move and not Sasuke. Jiraiya was sitting on the couch watching T.V. casually. Naruto jumped in front of the T.V.

"Move!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "It's getting to the important part."

Naruto turned off the television. "You gotta do something," he wasn't sure what he was about to ask.

"What?" Jiraiya asked crankily.

"Help me and Sakura find Sasuke,"

"He just tried to kill you yesterday,"

"Pervy Sage, he ran away!" He cried. "I don't know where he went… Sakura said he left the city."

"Sakura?"

Naruto pointed out at the door, where she was waiting to be invited in. Naruto sat down in defeat, the truth finally sinking in.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Jiraiya asked, softened. Naruto shrugged with his hands holding his head on his knees.

"Maybe we should get as many people as we can," Sakura offered. Naruto looked to her and motioned her in.

"Who would help?" Naruto asked. "No one's gonna help me find a kid who gives them death stares.

"What do you want us to say, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, getting up. "'It's hopeless,' or 'there's nothing we can do' or maybe 'Go find him yourself.' "

"No," Naruto sniffed. He looked up and looked at Sakura. "What do you think?"

"Like I said, find as many people as possible who will help,"

Jiraiya shoved his hand in his back pocket and retrieved his phone. "I might be able to ask Tsunade."

"Oh, please," Naruto huffed. "She hardly agreed to fix his arm." Sakura helped Naruto up.

"You never know," Jiraiya defended, calling her number. He raised the phone to his ear, and went into another room for privacy.

"What should we do in the mean time?" Sakura asked.

"I want to know," Naruto said. "I want to know the whole story of how you knew Sasuke left." Sakura sighed and wringed her fingers.

"This is going to be hard," Sakura admitted. To relive it might be too much. It hadn't been that long, she was still recovering. She rubbed the back of her neck. She bit her lip, trying to show no pain.

"I understand," Naruto said. "But I gotta know, Sakura."

"I followed him," she started. "All the way through town. He stopped at the wall that stops the border and said he had heard me the whole way."

'Is that right?' she thought.

"He told me he was leaving, and he didn't want me to follow." She gulped. "I told him I was going to get someone if he left. Then he… knocked me out I think. I was lying on the side of the road, for I don't know how long. Kakashi said he found me and brought me to his house."

Naruto leaned his back against the T.V. "Why did Sasuke leave?" he asked. "Did he tell you _why_?"

Sakura shook her head sadly. "It had to be for a certain reason," Sakura sighed. "And Kakashi said he had spoken with him before he left… I think. He said something like 'he didn't listen.'" They were silent for a while. They heard Jiraiya's voice sounding like a murmur from the back room.

"I talked to Tsunade," Jiraiya announced when he was finished. "She seemed to understand… a little." Sakura and Naruto waited quietly. "She said she'd see what she could do." He looked around the room.

"Are you lying?" Naruto asked.

"Well, not completely," Jiraiya murmured. "She didn't seem gung-ho towards my idea."

"Your idea?" Sakura asked. 'This better be good,' a voice said inside of her.

"She runs one of the hugest gathering places in the city," he said.

Naruto and Sakura looked to each other confused. "Gathering place?" they asked together.

"The school," Jiraiya explained.

"Oh, no," Naruto grumbled, his speeding heart slowing down. He was living in the moment, and forgot about the situation at hand; only for a second.

"She could get students to help," he said.

"On a weekend?" Sakura asked.

"She can say it's something stupid, like for a grade or something," He said. Naruto smacked his forehead.

"There's already too many kinks," Sakura complained. "This will never go over with the parents."

"Kids don't always tell the truth," Jiraiya said slyly. "I know that because for Naruto."

"Even if she does lie," Sakura said roughly. "That could cost herself her job." Jiraiya shrugged.

"Like I said, I think she understands more then she puts on," Jiraiya said.

"In the meantime," Naruto interrupted. "What do we do? We can't just wait around for Tsunade."

"He's right," Sakura agreed. "Maybe we should start recruiting just in case." Naruto spotted worry in her eye. She didn't believe that anyone would help.

"Pervy Sage, you stay here, while Sakura and I look around the city for people who will help," Naruto said, dusting himself off. Jiraiya put a thumbs-up, and sat back down.

He threw his cell phone towards Naruto. "Take this just in case," Jiraiya said. "I've got the home phone."

"I've got a phone," they said together.

"It'll make me feel better," Jiraiya insisted. They left Jiraiya to his program. They walked outside and stopped.

"Where do we start first?" Naruto asked. Sakura shrugged.

"Town," she said, and instantly started jogging. Naruto followed. He hoped this wouldn't be as painful as he thought.

Sasuke traveled silently with the Sound Four, miles from the city. Tayuya was talking quietly with Sakon. Jirobo stood behind Sasuke and Ukon and Kidomaru beside him. The rain seemed to bath Sasuke. He felt refreshed with every drop. He shook his hair. Kidomaru flinched.

"Sakon," Kidomaru called. "It's your turn next to the brat." He pointed at Sasuke. Sakon looked to Sasuke then Kidomaru.

He answered with a simple, sly, blunt "No." Kidomaru crossed his arms. Sasuke eyed him annoyed. Ukon rolled his eyes.

"Suck it up," he told him. "Are we close to resting, Sakon?" Sakon slowly turned his head to his brother.

"Yes," he said. "Now shut up." Tayuya gave everyone an annoyed look and went back to talking with Sakon.

"Hey," Sasuke called up. He smiled when Sakon shot him an impatient look. "I'm tired."

"Oh come on!" Sakon exclaimed.

"We've been walking since last night," Jirobo pointed out.

"Wah wah," Sakon teased. "Too bad. We'll stop in a little while." Sasuke crossed his arms as he walked. He looked up at the sky. Raindrops shot at the ground mercilessly. They rolled down Sasuke's face.

"The best thing in the world?" Sakura asked Naruto. He had claimed he was going to show her the best thing in the world. She shot a look to the sky. Far away was a furious rain cloud.

"I'll show you," he said, grabbed her hand and gently dragging her through the streets. She couldn't believe how he wasn't slinking around, moping about Sasuke. Instead, he was running through town with her in his hands. He knew how to deal with this better than her. They stopped in front of a cozy looking shop. The sign on top read: Ichiraku Ramen. She licked her lips.

"Do you have any money?" She asked. Naruto uncovered his pockets. It's white insides stuck out, showing no sign of money. He sighed.

"Well, do you?"

"Yeah, I've got a few bucks," she pulled out a five dollar bill from her pocket.

"Perfect!" Naruto exclaimed. "Then we'll go back to looking for Sasuke."

Sasuke sat under the sanctuary of a tree. The rest of the Sound Four sat close, but not directly under the tree. They talked lowly for Sasuke not to hear. Occasionally, Kidomaru would give Sasuke a looked that sent shivers through his body.

What the heck were they talking about?

"Hey, Sasuke," Sakon called. Everyone looked anxious in the group. Sasuke got up.

"What?"

"Get over here," Sakon ordered. Sasuke went over cautiously. He stood over them. Tayuya wouldn't look at him.

"This is where we said we'd meet him," He said calmly, though Sasuke saw excitement in his eyes.

"So what?"

A flash of aggravation flickered in Sakon eyes. "Come wait over here with us." Sasuke sat down heavily. He looked around.

"Lord Orochimaru isn't the type to go out of his way to do things," Tayuya said looking at Jirobo's feet. "You're special."

"You mean he's coming here?" Sasuke asked with an eyebrow lift. Kidomaru huffed.

"We're going to wait here," Sakon said. "Like I said, he's meeting us here."

Sasuke looked around- he was ready to meet "Lord Orochimaru".

Naruto slurped up his noodles. Sakura played around with hers. Her stomach was somewhere else. Naruto drank his broth. He looked at Sakura worriedly when she hadn't eaten.

"Sakura, you've gotta eat," Naruto told her. When she didn't respond, he asked "You don't like it?"

"I'm not hungry," she said lowly. She walked the grease swirl around teasingly in her broth. The noodles sat lonely at the bottom of her bowl. Naruto scooted the bowl closer to her and wafted the smell to her nose. He made a face that made her giggle.

"You know you want to eat it," he said, carrying the bowl closer to her nose. She pushed the bowl down chuckling.

"You're so stupid," she laughed. A heavy burden escaped in that loud laugh. She felt tension leave her lungs and her head cleared. When her head was lying limply on the table, her drool running from her opened mouth, Naruto started slowly laughing. Their laughter soon filled the whole shop- no one was there to hear it anyway, except maybe the chef.

"Thank you," Sakura said, finally wiping her eyes. Naruto gulped down a giggle.

"For what?" He asked sighing relieved.

"For being you," she smiled. She looked down at her bowl and was instantly hungry. She greedily grabbed wooden chopsticks and snapped them apart. She ate the whole thing until she was finished. When she set the bowl down she spotted Naruto gaping.

"What?" she asked, blushing. She brushed her shirt.

"I've never seen a girl eat so much so fast," He said, leaning back in his chair. She smiled. He jolted up like something had stuck him in his bottom. He turned to his pocket, which was vibrating. He pulled out Jiraiya's cell phone and read the caller I.D.

"It's Tsunade," he said.

_Please review. I like feedback- especially sense I haven't posted in a while. _


	29. Chapter 29

_Fanfiction's been down for a while. However, I've also had the longest writer's block known to man. Sorry! I'm very sorry about the huge delay! I'll try to keep posting more now! Please stick with me until the end. I promise it'll be worth it. _

_**I don't own Naruto. **_

"You answer it!" Naruto shoved the phone at Sakura. Sakura caught it, but felt the cell phone feel slippery. Or maybe her nervous sweaty hands made it slippery. She flung it back at Naruto, heR heart beating loudly.

"No! She thinks she's calling that man!" Sakura told him. Naruto caught it and flipped it back at her.

"Do that girl talk thing,"

"What girl talk thing?"

"Answer it, before she goes to voice mail!"

Sakura flipped open the phone and shoved it at Naruto's ear. For a second, Naruto's horrified stare burned into Sakura's eyes, making her feel guilty. He gulped, and grabbed the phone from Sakura.

"Hello?" He croaked then cleared his throat.

"Oh, Naruto," Tsunade said over the phone, sounding business like. Naruto looked to Sakura, who was pressing her ear up against the back of the phone. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Come meet me by the exit that leads out of town," Tsunade instructed. "And be ready to leave."

"Wait why?" Naruto asked.

"Just don't plan on going home for a while," Tsunade said sharply. She hung up. Naruto stared at the phone with surprise.

"Short and sweet," Sakura said. She pushed the bowl to the far side of the counter and they headed out. They went to Naruto's apartment and told Jiraiya what Tsunade had said.

They left quickly and headed for north of Konoha City. Last time Sakura had been at there was the night before. She hoped she could hold it together. Naruto was scary quiet. He stared ahead and seemed consumed in his thoughts. Jiraiya was navigating, so Sakura didn't have much to do along the way but focus on her emotions.

Sasuke stared at the sky. He'd rather watch the grey clouds skim by then the ugly looks on the Sound Four. All of them looked anxious. Tayuya hadn't lifted her head from the ground. Jirobo looked around. Sakon looked at the ground, but his senses never out of control. Ukon napped on Sakon's back, as Kidomaru lied in the dirt.

Everything was eerily quiet. At any moment, Orochimaru was planned to appear to pick up Sasuke. Sasuke sighed impatiently.

"I would have rather walked to his place than wait," Sasuke said, talking to the sky. Sakon snapped a look at him.

"It should be any minute now," Sakon said. Tayuya's position straightened, like something had struck her back. Everyone looked at her, considering everything had been still. She stared off past Sasuke's head. Sasuke focused.

Was something behind him? Sakon casted a look to where Tayuya had been staring. Ukon was waking up as Sasuke turned. Slinking from behind the shadows of the trees was a man. He was white, with greasy hair, and dirty clothes. The Sound Four got up and straightened.

This had to be Orochimaru.

Sasuke watched them as he stood too. They stood in a straight line. Sasuke was right in the middle. The man walked out, a small smile never leaving his face. A boy a couple years older than Sasuke came from behind Orochimaru.

"Lord Orochimaru," The Sound Four said together in strong unison. Sasuke glanced at them as they bowed deeply. Orochimaru stared at Sasuke who stared back darkly.

This was the man who wanted him. Why? Sasuke was hoping to find out. Where had Orochimaru heard of him?

"Hello," Orochimaru said. Sasuke stifled a shiver that started at the top of his spine.

"You're Orochimaru," Sasuke said. Sasuke felt Tayuya stiffen. They stared. Orochimaru inched closer, until Sasuke realized how close he was. He stared down at him as Sasuke stared up.

Sasuke left the gaze. He had felt Sakon looking at him, but something had been off. Sasuke's eyes widened in confusing when he saw Sakon smiling. Suddenly, Sasuke felt trapped and fear swelled in his stomach. Orochimaru chuckled.

"You do understand what we're doing here," Orochimaru said. At first, Sasuke thought he was talking to him, but realized he was talking to the Sound Four when they moved at his command.

Before Sasuke had time to react, Jirobo grabbed Sasuke's arms. Sakon got in Sasuke's face and shouted "Down!"

Kidomaru chuckled as he hit Sasuke in the knees. He collapsed and dropped to the ground on his knees. Sasuke bent his head over in pain on his chest. He was jolted back up when Jirobo pulled back on his arms. He stared up at Orochimaru. He hated that he could feel pain and fear painted on his face.

"We begin," He heard Sakon hiss.

Tsunade was standing with a group of people. Naruto, Sakura, and Jiraiya approached them as they talked. They quieted down and Tsunade commanded to.

"What are they doing here?" Naruto asked, pointing at his old school mates Tsunade had gathered. Sakura scanned the group. Kiba, and his dog Akamaru stood with the group. Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, and Choji Akimichi.

"They will help you get Sasuke back," Tsunade said, gesturing to them. Naruto scrunched up his nose.

"Uhh, why?" He asked. Sakura slapped him on the back of head.

"At least she's helping," she whispered.

"Okay, when do we leave?" Naruto asked.

"Right now," Tsunade said. Naruto coughed.

"Are you sure?"

"We can't back out now," Choji said, munching on potato chips. Naruto went up to the group, with Sakura behind him. He looked them all in the eye.

Neji looked bored and hatred filled his eyes. Naruto's stare lowered when he remembered Neji taking Hinata back to her neighborhood with no respect. Naruto still felt like somebody needed to straighten his act.

Kiba looked excited, but not very thrilled. He kept Akamaru in the opened part of his jacket. Aakamaru panted happily.

Shikamaru looked sleepy, bored… everything Naruto remembered about him in school. He moaned as his head rolled back to look at the clouds. Naruto sighed.

Choji looked happy. Naruto was almost positive it was because he was eating and not because he was about to go on a suicide mission.

Naruto looked to Tsunade. "Why them?" Naruto asked.

"I could get them to come easily," Tsunade explained. Naruto looked to Sakura, who was still looking at the group. Then he looked to Jiraiya, who shrugged.

"Better than nothing, isn't it?" Jiraiya asked in a whisper. Naruto shrugged.

"I'm the leader," Naruto said.

"No you aren't," Tsunade scolded. She pointed to Shikamaru.

"No way," Naruto protested, crossing his arms. Shikamaru rolled his head back and sighed.

"Look, I don't really wanna be here," he groaned. Naruto walked up to him and got in his face. Their toes touched and Naruto stared right into his eyes. Shikamaru didn't look phase- he looked just as bored.

"Then why did you agree to come?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't have anything better to do," Shikamaru said.

"And he needs a good grade pick-up," Tsunade said. "So, this will bring his average up."

"How?" Sakura asked. "You can tell the teacher that?"

"I can threaten their job," Tsunade answered with a smile. Naruto backed up and slowly left his gaze with Shikamaru.

"Come on! Let's go!" Kiba complained. Akamaru barked, as Sakura sighed. She stepped beside Jiraiya, and tightened her emotions.

"This is a little abrupt isn't?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade quietly.

Tsunade snapped, "You asked for my help didn't you?"

Jiraiya couldn't argue with that. He looked to Naruto and felt a deep regret fill his lungs. This mission wasn't for a twelve year old. However, Naruto wasn't a regular twelve year old. He looked at Jiraiya with confidence. Jiraiya chuckled.

Sakura stepped back. Her emotions weren't in control. She didn't want anyone to see her close to tears.

Jiraiya hugged Naruto. Naruto asked confused, "Aren't you coming? You can do this with us."

Jiraiya shook his head. "This is your mission." He said. "I believe you're ready."

Naruto finally hugged back. "I'll be alright Pervy Sage." He pulled back and held up a thumbs-up. "That's a promise!" His smile was huge and genuine. Jiraiya smiled back. He opened his mouth to say something when Sakura came up behind him.

"Naruto," she said firmly. His face was focused and intense. "I… really want to come."

"You can't-" Naruto started.

"I understand," Her face softened. She gulped and looked to the ground. "Even if I thought I was ready… I couldn't. It's too hard." she turned her body.

"I understand too," Naruto said. He looked to Sakura's feet. "I might die, but… don't worry. Dead or not, I'll _make_ Sasuke come back." He pointed at her fiercely. Sakura blinked, and Naruto saw a small tear drop run down her face. Naruto rubbed it away.

Sakura looked surprised. "Naruto," Her voice cracked. She leaped on him in a hug and sobbed into his hair. "Naruto, please bring him back!"

Naruto looked to Tsunade and Jiraiya awkwardly. Jiraiya chuckled and Tsunade shook her head with a small smile. Naruto reached his hand up and patted her head slowly. Her hair was soft and well kept. He wanted to kiss her at that moment. He didn't care who was around. However…

It would have been too hard on both of them.

Sakura pulled away and nodded embarrassed.

"I promise I'll being him back!" Naruto said. "_It's my promise of a lifetime!_"

Sasuke kneeled in pain, hugging his stomach on the ground. His neck burned where Orochimaru had marked him. Sasuke felt helplessness fill up his guts and he wanted to cry in pain. He couldn't though. That would have been weak in front of The Sound Four and their wicked leader, Orochimaru.

He panted and rolled in the wet dirt. It had started raining. His wet hair dripped into his eyes. He looked up at Orochimaru in hatred. His teeth were clutched with pain. Orochimaru chuckled when he saw Sasuke's eyes.

"As you travel back, you will teach him how to use his Curse Mark," Orochimaru ordered. "I have other business in Konoha." The Sound Four nodded. "Good bye, Sasuke. We will be spending a lot of time together." He walked away. The older boy didn't follow his at first. He walked over to Sasuke first.

"Get away," Sasuke seethed. The boy bent down and held out his hand.

"I just want to help you," he said. Sasuke reached a shaky hand to the boy's. He helped him up.

"Kabuto, hurry up, or Lord Orochimaru will leave you behind," Sakon said.

"Right, thanks," Kabuto said sarcastically and headed off. Sasuke leaned against a tree for support and passed out.

The group Tsunade had gathered together was named the Sasuke Retrieval Squad. They headed out silently. Naruto had never really like any of them. He was ahead of the group. Shikamaru shuffled in the back.

"Some leader you are," Naruto called back to Shikamaru. Shikamaru sighed, and he rested his arms behind his head. Naruto scoffed.

Whatever possessed Tsunade to recruit such a lazy kid?

Neji moaned. "How effective do you think mission will be, Uzumaki?"

Naruto turned. "As effective as we'll make it."

"What if never find him?" Choji asked nervously.

"I don't know," Naruto said. "Because we are."

Kiba wondered aloud. "Why did he leave in the first place? I mean, what does he think he's going to accomplish?"

"I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know!" Naruto exclaimed. "Just stop asking questions!"

Neji shook his head. "Why do you even care about Sasuke?" He asked. Naruto stopped nad slowly turned to him.

"What do you mean?"

"You guys never got along at school, and he's so much better than you." Neji said with a sneer. "I'm not saying I like him, but he's apparently better than you."

Naruto walked up to him fast with his fist raised in the air. Neji lifted his hands in a sharp end. Choji got in between them.

"Hey, hey, guys," He said cautiously. "Let's not fight! We're a team, remember?" Naruto lowered his fist and walked back up to the front.

"Keep your mouth shut, Neji," Naruto said. "Or I'll give you what you're asking for."

Tsunade sighed at the gate. She looked to Sakura then Jiraiya and started laughing. Sakura looked to Jiraiya confused.

"Do you really want to go home with him?" Tsunade asked. Sakura shrugged but inside she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Hey don't bother her, she's fine," Jiraiya defended. Sakura stood in the middle of both of them.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, don't try. I'll take her home. We'll have a little girl talk." Jiraiya looked at her crazy.

"You? And her?" He pointed at Tsunade than Sakura. "Whatever. I need peace and quiet anyway."

'What? And I'm loud?' Sakura thought offended.

"Come on, Sakura," Tsunade said. Honestly, Sakura thought, she wasn't looking forward to walking home with her cranky principal either, but it was better than walking home with a creepy grandpa.

"Good-bye," Sakura waved to Jiraiya.

"Can I see you later?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade. She shook her head.

"I have an appointment with Kakashi," Tsunade said. "Maybe another time… like never."

"That's cold…" Jiraiya complained.

Sakura laughed and felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. Maybe she would enjoy Tsunade's company.

_My editor didn't edit this, so if there were any error, it's because I was impatient._

_**Please review so I know I'm still writing to someone besides cyber ghosts! **_


	30. Chapter 30

_Here's the next chapter. Sorry for all the really ultra mega bad type-o's last chapter. This chapter I had my editor look over before I posted it. _

_**I don't own Naruto!**_

"Aww, this is lame," Shikamaru moaned from the back of the group. Naruto shot him a look when Shikamaru pointed to the sky. A dark heavy rain cloud loomed over the group. Naruto huffed in aggravation.

"It's just a little rain," Naruto groaned. He kept trudging on. The only sounds that surrounded the group were the rhythmic chomping of Choji's chewing, the distant rain, and their footsteps. It was close to the evening. The sun was dropping low behind the trees, and their shadows were long.

Neji held up a hand to halt everyone. Naruto noticed when he was ten yards ahead. He ran back to them.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked annoyed.

Neji looked around stiffly. "Someone's been here recently."

Naruto huffed. "A couple rabbits, maybe." He looked around annoyed.

"No, look" Neji said firmly. He pointed to the moist dirty ground. "Someone's been struggling."

'What if it was Sasuke?' Naruto thought horrified. 'Maybe he's hurt somewhere.' He curled his hands into a fist and grinded his teeth. Choji placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Don't worry," He said after he swallowed. Naruto looked at him questioningly.

"I'm not worrying," He assured and pushed out of Choji's reach. "Let's keep moving…"

Neji didn't move. "There's something very different here." He said. His eyes were fixed on nothing. His pale eyes were unmoving. Naruto sighed impatiently. "There's a sense of chakra electrifying the air. I can't explain it, exactly."

"Arf!" Akamaru barked . Kiba petted Akamaru.

"Akamaru feels it too," He said.

"Whatever," Naruto whined. "We're wasting time." Neji shot a look to Naruto and followed.

Sakura walked home shyly with Tsunade. Tsunade sighed when they were a couple yards away from Jiraiya, who was watching the cars go in and out of the gate. They had stayed a couple hours because Jiraiya wouldn't let Tsunade leave until he was positive Naruto didn't come back.

"He's such a grandpa, huh?" Tsunade asked. Sakura looked up quickly and nodded. She felt awkward around her principal. Tsunade rubbed the back of her neck nervously. She wondered how she should talk to a thirteen year old student.

"How long have you been knowing Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know, as long as I can remember Kindergarten," Sakura answered quietly and carefully.

There was a long silence between them. Both were clueless at how to talk to one another. Sakura occasionally flicked her hair and Tsunade periodically brushed her hair with her fingers. Sakura scrapped around for a ton of ideas to talk to her principal with that wouldn't make her image bad or braggingly annoying.

Then she remembered she mentioned Kakashi.

"I heard you talk about Kakashi," Sakura said. Tsunade looked down at her and nodded.

"That's right,"

"Do you mean the Kakashi with… umm," Sakura pulled her hands over her nose and mouth and the other over her left eye and looked up at Tsunade. Tsunade laughed.

"That's him," she laughed. "How do you know him?"

"He was Naruto's teacher, right?" Sakura answered nervously. How weird would it have sounded if she said he found her on the side of the road? Then again, she knows the situation. She sighed. She seemed cool enough.

"He was also Sasuke's," Tsunade said.

"When I tried to stop Sasuke," Sakura started, her eyes blurred from her heart beating so fast so quickly. She was nervous she'd say the wrong thing. "Kakashi found me on the side of the main highway that leads out the wall; where we just were. He brought me to his house and brought me to Naruto."

"What happened when Sasuke left?" Tsunade asked. She squinted at herself when she realized she might be invading Sakura's private feelings.

Sakura gulped. "It was really confusing. He said I was annoying, then he thanked me. He somehow knocked me out when he left."

Tsunade nodded understandingly. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one." She admitted. Sakura looked past the buildings. It started getting dark. She realized her parents must be worried about her for being out for two nights without explanation. She focused her attention back to Tsunade.

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically. "I can't say I understand. If Naruto can bring Sasuke back, then I'm right. But…" she drifted.

"Do you think of Naruto like a brother?" Tsunade asked. She chuckled.

"Oh… no!" Sakura exclaimed, surprised by the question. Sakura realized that was the answer she would have given in the beginning of the year, but now she wasn't so sure.

Tsunade gave a dry laugh. "Then maybe you won't understand how painful it is to lose loved ones."

Sakura looked up, feeling guilt. "I mean, I don't mind listening, if you don't mind telling me!"

"I lost my little brother and my lover, when I was younger," Tsunade confessed. She crossed her arms across her chest. "I miss them, so much." She shivered.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said quietly. How would she feel if she lost Sasuke? She didn't consider Naruto as a brother, but as a good friend. She wouldn't want to lose him either. Sakura sighed. They walked silently until they reached close to Sakura's house.

Sakura gave her the directions and they were led there.

"You're a nice kid, Sakura," Tsunade said as she left her to go home.

"Thank you," Sakura said, nodding appreciatively. Tsunade seemed to want to say something, but stayed silent.

"I'll see you around school," Tsunade said, and walked off slowly.

Sakura fidgeted. She seemed she wanted to say something too, but she didn't know what she wanted to say. Tsunade looked back and waved when she saw Sakura still there.

Sakura _did _hope to see her around school.

The Sound Four walked in the dark trail. The shadows of the trees made it dark, night was falling, and the dark clouds that boomed behind them blocked them from any light.

Sasuke wouldn't have been able to see very well anyway if had been walking with the Sound Four. They had him tied up in gauze that had a sharp smell. Before they had wrapped him up, he had seen it was purple with a red pattern in between. He listened to the Sound Four's footsteps.

He couldn't move, but if he weren't tied up he would use the pent up power he felt. He had awaken after had passed out a couple hours after. The Sound Four had gotten annoyed with him because they had wasted "several good walking hours", as Sakon had put it.

Tayuya had explained the gauze kept his chakra from activating the newly made Curse Seal Orochimaru had given him. If they hadn't controlled it, he would have been slowly letting his chakra turn him into his Curse Seal monster.

Sakon had complained that they should have let him become the monster, and they should have wrapped him up then. However, Tayuya complained it would have been too much work to get him wrapped up.

Now, he was so tightly wrapped, he couldn't see or talk; basically he couldn't move anything except he could smell, which helped the breathing. He felt Jirobo carrying him along uncomfortably.

At that time, Sasuke wondered what kind of power he would receive within the Curse Mark.

Naruto's group was still going by the time it was dark. Choji was the first to start complaining that they should stop, but Naruto refused.

"But I'm tired!" Choji whined. "And I ran out of chips." The whole group looked at him for a moment. He caved into himself embarrassedly.

"I'm not stopping," Naruto said. "Sasuke could be right in front of our noses and we just don't know it!"

"I could tell you that, and you're wrong," Neji said bluntly.

"I don't care," Naruto said. "We have to go as far as we can go tonight."

Kiba sniffed the air, supporting Neji's remark.

"That's not such a good idea," Shikamaru countered. "If we get tired we could let our guard down. Also, if we did, we'd just rest longer than we would if we stopped now. Then we could travel longer. It would also be better if we traveled by daylight and not night."

"Okay," Naruto agreed, with his hands up. "I agree. But! We're leaving at dawn!"

"Woof!" Akamaru yipped.

"We'll know when it's dawn," Kiba ensured. "Akamaru can smell the sun!"

"I'm sure he can," Naruto murmured. He sat down and looked around. He jumped up when he realized something important.

"We didn't pack a thing!" Naruto cried.

"I packed food," Choji put in. Naruto looked around.

"But we don't have any tents!" Naruto whined.

"Me and Akamaru sleep on the ground half the time," Kiba said, and lied down, unzipping his jacket. Akamaru crawled out and fixed the ground for himself.

"It'll have to do," Neji said with a hidden sneer. He sat down under a tree and didn't close his eyes.

Choji sat down heavily. He rubbed the ground a bit and looked unsatisfied. Naruto heard him gulp.

Shikamaru stood over everyone. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sleeping on the ground."

"Then where around you gonna sleep?" Naruto asked nastily.

Shikamaru pointed up. He walked over to Neji's tree. Neji sneered as Shikamaru naturally pulled himself up into the tree and climbed. He got to the middle of the tree, saddled the branch, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

Naruto snickered. "I feel bad for you Neji. Let's just hope you're both not dead by morning."

"Why would we be dead?" Neji snapped.

"Shikamaru would fall on you,"

Choji walked over. "I'll catch him if he falls. You can sleep over there if you want Neji." Choji sat by Neji and pointed to a nearby tree. Neji pushed Choji over angrily.

"He will not fall on me! I can take care of myself anyway," Neji said, kicking him away. Choji got up and brushed himself off. He sniffed and shrugged.

"Whatever, I was just trying to do you a favor," Choji said, unharmed.

"Neji, why do you have to be such a jerk?" Naruto complained. "Choji was just trying to help!"

Neji scoffed. "I don't need help from people like him."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Choji asked suddenly dark. Kiba lifted his head, feeling the heat starting to tense up between the three.

"You know exactly what I mean," Neji mocked. "Fatty…"

Naruto stepped back from Choji. He was a totally different person just from Neji's remark. Choji balled his fists and was shaking. His once kind and soft face was now tough and scary. The shadows longed on his face and he walked stiffly over to Neji.

Naruto almost stepped in when he decided Neji getting his butt kicked by Choji would be fun to watch.

Choji, quicker than Naruto thought, swept up Neji's shirt collar and lifted Neji to his face. Neji looked sternly not afraid.

"I'm not fat!" Choji shouted. Naruto could have sworn he felt the trees shake a little. He had sprayed spit on Neji's face. Neji winced when he felt the saliva. Choji shoved him against the tree and stormed off.

"Woah," Naruto murmured. "That kid can get scary." Neji wiped his face and sat down. He turned his face to the tree and went to sleep. Kiba was asleep in the next minute and Naruto felt alone. He missed Sakura and Jiraiya more than ever.

He couldn't wait for dawn.

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I promise actions are gonna start happening in the next chapter. All I feel is cyber-ghost readers right now. My story can't be that bad right? So, please review. If you have a problem with my story__**, please tell me before I waste more of my time writing the rest of the story**__. (I'll write even if I have ONE reader. :I love you, Nara!:) So, besides Nara, who else is reading this? _


	31. Chapter 31

_Hello, again! I hope you enjoy the 31__st__ chapter of this fanfiction. I'll explain more at the end._

_**I don't own Naruto!**_

"Woof, woof!" A barking came from Naruto's side. Naruto jumped up in surprise. He rubbed his eyes. He saw Shikamaru sliding down from his tree. Choji was no where in sight, and Neji was blinking groggily. Kiba was standing next to Naruto with his arms crossed and a huge smile on his face.

"Haha! I told you Akamaru could smell the sun!" Kiba announced proudly. Naruto rubbed the back of his sore neck. Akamaru made a satisfied whine and sat at Kiba's feet.

"Where's Choji?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Kiba said, suddenly looking around.

Shikamaru moaned. "Why does he have to make this difficult?"

Neji brushed himself off. "You can't blame me. I didn't ask him to run off."

Naruto huffed. "Whatever. We'll find him sooner or later." He started ahead. It was cool and humid; the sun was just peaking behind the horizon, Naruto guessed.

The Sound Four had been resting for the night. Sasuke hadn't gone to sleep, but he hadn't been totally awake. He heard rustling every now and then, but what did his surroundings matter to him? The sun was rising, Sasuke could tell, from the heat returning to the day.

"Man, I'm hungry," he heard Jirobo grumble. He heard a sharp slapping sound.

"Idiot!" Tayuya's voice snapped. "We don't have time!"

"Darn it," Kidomaru groaned. "Where's Sakon? Ukon- you are bound to know."

He heard silence, Sasuke assumed Ukon was shrugging. Kidomaru sighed.

"He's slowing us down," Tayuya said. He heard someone walking.

"I guess we should go find something to eat," Jirobo suggested. _Slap!_

"Stop it!" Tayuya barked. Sasuke tried to shift, starting to feel stiff.

"Is the kid awake?" Kidomaru asked. Sasuke felt himself roll his eyes.

"Like I know, and it's not like we can ask him," Tayuya said. There was silence for awhile. The sun started to become more apparent. After, maybe, an hour, Sasuke heard footsteps. Someone got up from the group.

"Sakon! Finally!" Tayuya cried. There was a sudden stiffness in the air. No one talked. He heard Sakon chuckled.

"I can't believe this," Kidomaru grumbled.

"Are you surprised to see me?" A new voice said.

"Darn it, Kimimaro! I thought –"Kidomaru started.

"I don't care what you thought. This is what's happened." The new man, Sasuke assumed his name was Kimimaro.

"I really didn't think you'd ever come back," Jirobo murmured.

"Where were you, Sakon?" Tayuya asked sharply.

"Having a fight with Kimimaro," he answered casually. "I couldn't resist it."

"Of course you couldn't," Kidomaru scoffed.

"Shall we get down to why I'm here?" Kimimaro said. A shadow passed Sasuke's cloth.

"Orochimaru called me," he said. Sasuke heard him sitting down.

"Why?" Kidomaru snapped. "We don't need help, and besides, you're not well. Last I heard, anyway."

Kimimaro chuckled. "You don't need help? You people don't even have a leader."

"That would be me," Tayuya and Sakon said together.

"I really don't care, honestly," Kimimaro said. "However, we're losing daylight sitting around talking."

Jirobo moaned. "Just a while won't hurt anything."

Everyone, either, moaned, sighed, or scoffed. Sasuke heard a mixture.

Naruto ran ahead, occasionally looking over his shoulder.

'These guys are slow,' Naruto thought.

"Hey, slow down, Naruto!" Kiba called up. "I hate people in front of me."

"Then speed up," Naruto cried. He sighed and waited near a tree. "Do you guys realize why we're doing this?" Shikamaru groaned. Akamaru barked, and everyone else stared for the answer.

Then Neji said, "To find your friend."

"No," Naruto said. "We're not just rescuing him. We're saving his life."

"He left on his own Naruto," Shikamaru said.

"I don't care! He'll die eventually. He doesn't know where he's going, I can almost guarantee it," Naruto said. "He probably just left because he hated being in the city. He seemed really angry the last time I had seen him."

"Then maybe this is for the better," Shikamaru pointed out. Naruto punched the tree he had been leaning on.

"Darn it, Shikamaru! You didn't know Sasuke! None of you did! You don't understand why this is so important," Naruto exclaimed. "Come on, we can't stop."

He walked. Choji came up with him. "Why's he so important to you, Naruto?" Choji asked.

Naruto chuckled. "I don't really have an answer," He said. "Except he was my friend, and I can't let him get away so easily."

Choji nodded, and he stopped so he could get with the rest of the group.

Kimimaro had been arguing with the Sound Four for what seemed like a couple of hours to Sasuke. The sun was almost in the middle of the sky; Sasuke could feel it on his face.

_Thud! _Sakon had been fighting with Kimimaro. Sasuke heard Sakon struggling. Kimimaro chuckled.

"Now," He said. "Let me explain my business here." Sasuke felt the struggle leave the air. Sakon had given up.

"Get off me!" Sakon hissed. Kimimaro moved off of him.

"I'm here so I can take the kid faster," He said bluntly. "Orochimaru's orders."

"What?" Sakon coughed.

"How could you carry him any faster than all four of us combined?" Kidomaru asked offended.

"Do you see what time it is already?" Kimimaro asked firmly. "It's ten-ten already. And you guys haven't even moved!" They were silent in disappointment.

Sasuke tried to shift. Kimimaro moved closer to him. "I'll take him ahead to the city, and you guys can take as much time as you'd like to hang around."

Sasuke felt Kimimaro kneel beside him. He rubbed the fabric of Sasuke's wrapping.

"Why are you sealing his chakra?" He asked.

"Lord Orochimaru gave him the seal," Tayuya answered sternly.

"Right," Kimimaro picked up Sasuke and positioned him against a tree.

"I won't let you Kimimaro!" Tayuya's voice suddenly shouted. Everyone was stiff and anticipated.

"Why not?" Kimimaro asked.

"We worked too hard to get him. It's so embarrassing for you to have to come out and help us," Tayuya exclaimed. Kimimaro left Sasuke's side and, Sasuke guessed, up to Tayuya.

"I will take him," Kimimaro said quietly. "You will not protest."

Tayuya gulped. He walked back over to Sasuke and grabbed the two straps Tayuya had made for Sasuke to be carried like a backpack. Kimimaro carried him on one shoulder.

Sasuke wasn't sure whether to relax or get nervous. Then again, he thought. What does it matter?

Naruto heard distant voices up ahead around noon. He held up a hand, but Choji ran into him anyway. He scolded him and pointed ahead. Akamaru's hair was on end, and Naruto thought Kiba's would be too, if it were possible.

"Darn that Kimimaro!" A voice shouted from behind the trees. Naruto didn't know what to do. Should they go around them or walk past them?

"What are we doing now?"

"Like I know!"

"Hey, do you guys feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"There's someone nearby,"

Naruto stiffened.

"No hiding now," Neji murmured in Naruto's ear. Naruto gulped.

"What do we do?" Naruto snapped quietly.

"I don't know," Neji whispered. "However, a lot of strong chakra is here."

"Not as strong as before, though," Kiba added in Naruto's other ear.

"I say we-" Shikamaru started, but not in a whisper. Everyone jumped on him, covering his mouth.

"Hey!" The voices were closer. Naruto stepped back, stepping on people's feet.

People ran through and saw them. It was a girl and three other boys, all older than them. Neji stiffened.

"There's something different about their chakra," Neji noted.

"Hey, they're just a couple of kids," The pale one said.

"Who are you guys?" Naruto asked. Akamaru growled at Naruto's feet.

"Haha! Yeah right kid, like we're telling you," The girl said.

"Come on, lets get the heck out of here," The darker one said.

A kunai flew past Naruto's face and towards the group. Naruto spun around and saw Neji's arm back.

"Neji, what are you doing?" Naruto hissed.

Neji stared at the group, ignoring Naruto. "Tell us your names."

"Sakon, Tayuya, Kidomaru, and Jirobo," Sakon answered quickly.

"Right, well, can we get through?" Neji asked.

Kidomaru scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Why?" Tayuya asked.

"We need to save my friend, Sasuke!" Naruto answered.

The group looked to each other and smiled.

"Wrong move, dude," Shikamaru commented.

"Oh, yes, we know Sasuke," Sakon said, crossing his arms.

"You do?" Naruto asked, hopefully. "Where? Do you know where he is?"

"Hold on just a second," Tayuya said, holding a finger up. They formed a group.

"By holding these kids back, we can redeem ourselves to Lord Orochimaru," Tayuya said quietly.

The group nodded and got back to Naruto's group.

"We know where he is," Kidomaru said. "You'll have to get through us."

Neji cracked a smile as Naruto stepped back. Kiba and Akamaru growled. Shikamaru groaned, and Choji whimpered.

"N-No way," Naruto croaked. "I really-"

"Send up your weakest," Sakon shouted to them. Naruto grabbed Choji's shirt as Neji grabbed Naruto's arm.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Uzumaki?" Neji asked him in a hiss.

"We have to keep going," Naruto said.

"Who says I'm the weakest?" Choji asked nervously, his voice cracking. Naruto glanced to Shikamaru.

"Do you know any martial arts?" Naruto asked.

Choji gulped. "Just a little."

"Then maybe you aren't the weakest," Naruto said. "But, we can trick them and make you think you are." He tried to make it sound good.

Choji squirmed. Everyone looked at him. Waiting in front of the group was Jirobo, pouting.

"Go get 'em," Naruto said, pushing him out. The group behind Jirobo started heading back.

"Naruto," Shikamaru pointed.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted to the Sound Four. "Come back!" They ran after them and left Choji alone.

Choji stood in the tiny clearing with Jirobo. He felt like peeing in his pants. He felt like eating a bag of chips. He felt like hiding behind the tree until Jirobo eventually killed him. He stepped back.

"Come on, kid," Jirobo said. "Let's see what you got."

Choji gulped and straightened. He had done this before; in his own neighborhood, he had fought people. It wouldn't be so hard, if he imagined Jirobo as one of the gang members in his neighborhood.

Then Jirobo leaped after him and that image left his mind. How was he going to do this and not die?

_I had to skip the fight with Neji and Naruto because I needed to get going with the Sound Four and Naruto's group meeting up. That fight would have taken 2 to 3 chapters. I'm sorry for people who like that part. I never actually read this whole arc and even if I did, I would be changing it. It's what I do…!_

_**Please review. **_


	32. Chapter 32

_I'm glad I'm finally getting feedback again! _ __**I have a question though**__. When you review tell me if you like this arc from the manga or not. I don't if you're wondering. (No wonder I change it so much.)Sorry this one took forever to post. My stinkin' editor doesn't like reading, but catches mistakes really well. (Most of the time)_

_**I don't own Naruto.**_

Naruto panted; not aware of the team of kids behind him. He pumped his arms, racing after the Sound Four. They knew where Sasuke was and Naruto had to catch them. All he heard was his heart beating and his feet pounding the ground. He saw a dark circle engrave in his vision around the Sound Four.

"Naruto," Shikamaru said through pants. Naruto didn't hear him. Shikamaru reached his hand forward and grabbed Naruto shoulder. "Naruto!"

"What do you want?" Naruto snapped over his shoulder. Shikamaru shook Naruto's shoulder.

"Are- we really- gonna chase- these guys- forever?" Shikamaru asked.

"If we catch these guys, our mission will be close to over," Naruto said.

"We can't stop now," Neji said from behind Shikamaru. "We've already left someone behind. He might lose his life- it would have been pointless to leave him back there if we don't keep going."

"I'll run ahead," Kiba said. He easily passed them up with Akamaru at his heels.

"I can hardly run anymore," Shikamaru huffed. He held his side. "My side hurts."

"Breath more," Neji said.

"Yeah, right…" Shikamaru scoffed and started jogging.

Choji hid behind a tree, panting nervously. He heard Jirobo's footsteps stomp the ground. Choji gulped and looked from behind the tree. Choji hadn't gotten hit yet, but the punches were too close to make Choji feel comfortable.

"You can't hide forever, kid," Jirobo called. Choji slid back into his hiding place. Where the heck was Jirobo? His voice sounded really close. Choji ran from tree to tree and Jirobo seemed to be getting closer no matter where he went.

"Boo," Jirobo whispered right into Choji's ear. Choji shrieked, jabbed his fist into Jirobo's face, and ran. Choji never looked back. He screamed when Jirobo grabbed his leg and pulled him in. Choji kicked as Jirobo held him by his leg upside down.

"Let me go!" Choji exclaimed through tears.

"Yeah, right, kid," He dropped Choji, who fell on his head heavily. Choji rolled away quickly as Jirobo tried to kick him. Choji rubbed his head and seethed.

Jirobo grabbed Choji's arm, pulled him in and kicked him in the back. Choji was horrified when he coughed and blood dripped to the ground. He squirmed and closed his eyes.

"Don't even try to get away," Jirobo said, and threw him against a tree. Choji slid down in pain. He wiped his mouth and was afraid to look at his hand. He held himself and he prepared himself for a beating.

He was also preparing himself to die.

"You don't fight much, do you?" Jirobo asked, and held Choji by the tree with a foot on Choji's shoulder. Choji coughed.

"Please," Choji croaked through tears. "Get away from me!"

"No way, fatty," Jirobo chuckled. Choji's eyes shot open. Choji looked at Jirobo wide-eyed. He pushed Jirobo's foot off of him and stood up wobbly. Jirobo raised an eyebrow. Choji huffed and puffed angrily. He wiped his mouth and straightened up.

His fists clenched forcefully. He shook with anger. Jirobo watched confused and stepped back; curious of what the kid was going to do. Choji panted, and his eyes were little slits. What Jirobo could see of them they were on fire. He stepped forward stiffly.

"No- one- calls- me- fat!" He shouted in parts and ran at Jirobo like he was possessed.

The Sound Four had stopped running, amazed that Naruto and friends had still been following them. Sakon stepped forward with a grin.

"Okay, kids, I guess you want another fight," Sakon said, shaking his head. Naruto stared back ready for them.

"I want a piece of them," Kidomaru said, stepping up behind Sakon smiling. He had his hand on his hip. Naruto cracked his fist and stepped forward, but he was pulled back by someone behind. Neji talked into Naruto's ear.

"I'll fight him," He said, and pushed Naruto back and stepped forward.

"But-"

"We might be able to stop them here if I fight," Neji said. "I have more battle skills then all three of you combined." Kiba shifted and sniffed.

"Alright, Neji," Naruto agreed, secretly relieved. The other two Sound Four members turned and left. Naruto scoffed.

"I'll be fine," Neji insisted. "Go ahead, I have him…"

"Good luck," Kiba whispered and ran off with Naruto and Shikamaru behind him.

Choji panted; his knuckles feeling raw. He had swung countless blows Jirobo's way. He had hit several rough trees. He had only hit Jirobo a couple times. However, Choji wanted a fist full of Jirobo in his hands.

Choji lunged forward and swung for Jirobo. Jirobo ducked, and before he could do anything, Choji was coming in for another hit. Jirobo felt his jaw crack when Choji hit it. Jirobo lifted his fists in the air, ready to pound Choji into the ground with his fists like a hammer and Choji's head like a nail.

Choji drew his foot back and kicked Jirobo in the gut. Jirobo hit Choji's head, but he didn't hit it as dead-on as he thought he was going to.

Choji grabbed his head and shook it. He whined and rubbed it. Jirobo snuck up on him and kicked him to the side; hard. Choji landed on the ground and jumped back up quickly, shaking his head.

"I can't stop now," Choji murmured to himself. "Not now, when I have a chance."

"What are you mumbling about?" Jirobo asked, running towards him. Choji shot his head back up and reached his hand into his pocket.

He pulled his hand back out and smiled. Jirobo head butt Choji in the gut and drilled him into a tree. Choji swallowed and chuckled.

"You're a strange kid," Jirobo sneered.

"I've got back-up," Choji said.

Jirobo shook his head and shrugged. "Sure. Think that all you want."

Choji jumped on top of Jirobo and pounded. Jirobo rammed into different trees trying to get Choji off. However, Choji had an iron grip and pounded. He felt Jirobo's pulse on his slightly bald head as Choji's grip started breaking Jirobo's circulation.

Jirobo finally slammed himself to the ground and Choji had to let go. Choji felt limp and broken. He wasn't sure he could fight anymore. He panted and reached shakily into his pocket. Three pills dropped out of Choji's pocket. He picked them up and swallowed them.

His mother packed him those pills everyday. They weren't medicine, but they were for protection. Choji's mom had always warned him to not eat them unless a life-or-death situation. Choji felt half alive and decided those pills were made for that moment.

He wasn't really sure what they did, but he was sure he was about to find out.

Choji quickly started feeling renewed and refreshed. He sat up and saw Jirobo coming after him. He got up and ran behind a tree, letting himself rest. He only needed a minute's grace.

He started feeling more powerful and restored. Jirobo rounded the tree with his fist raised. Choji looked at him, and he felt like he was in slow-motion. He could see every small motion in Jirobo's body. Choji raised his own fist and their arms crossed. Jirobo hit Choji's face, Choji hit Jirobo's chest. They both drew back and stumbled.

"Your strength," Jirobo mumbled. "It's changed."

Choji shouted as he ran up to Jirobo again. Jirobo guarded his body but stared at Choji with amazement. Choji didn't know he had glowing blue and massive butterfly wings on his back. Jirobo could feel the electricity in the air to know it was chakra and not real wings, but the sight was amazing.

Choji felt lifted from the ground, (not by much, just a little higher than a jump) and he pounded Jirobo head-on. Jirobo's form collapsed. A strange glow came from Jirobo. Choji watched cautiously. Jirobo folded into himself, his skin changing into a tinted orange.

Jirobo's hair had grown longer and thicker and he had bumps on his skin. He looked more reptilian than anything. Choji stepped back in confusion. Jirobo looked more threatening than before. Jirobo growled as he ran forward with a strange glow forming around his fist. Choji raised his arms for protection as Jirobo punched him.

Choji's arms felt raw and quickly felt better. He started getting tired of this battle, and he wanted to end it soon. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take, mentally. He wondered how Jirobo had gotten the light around his fist to make him stronger. He focused on his arm and watched Jirobo.

Jirobo was panting and watching Choji. They stood on opposite sides and were afraid to go after each other. They had both went to their last resort.

Choji watched the force form around his arm and wave smoothly. It was a beautiful blue and put energy into his arm. He ran towards Jirobo and raised his arm, ready to punch Jirobo for the last time. Jirobo was ready, though, and pushed his arm to the side and Choji hit a tree.

He had wasted that much energy and he focused again. He watched the blue light come faster. Jirobo ran towards him. Choji ran forward also, ready to collide. The last second they were about to hit, Choji punched Jirobo into the gut. Jirobo shouted in pain and fell to the ground.

"My… body," He growled. He grabbed his stomach and kicked his legs in pain. "You-"

"I'm finished with you," Choji growled. His wings fluttered and sparkled in the sunlight.

"You broke my body," Jirobo panted. "A kid…"

Choji turned and started walking. Where? He wasn't sure; he just wanted to get away from Jirobo. Jirobo cried in pain and eventually his cries faded away. Choji sat under a tree and listened. He heard Neji.

He walked where he heard Neji's voice. His body started slowing down and he started feeling light headed and the pain started sneaking in. He shook and fell to his knees. He tried to get back up, but his face felt a pull to the ground. He fell and closed his eyes.

He wasn't aware he was closer to death than he had been before.

Several minutes back, Neji watched his friends disappear behind the trees. Kidomaru walked forward, and Neji positioned himself for battle.

"So, you kids think you have a chance against us," Kidomaru said. "Correct?"

"Yes," Neji snapped. "Get over here already, so we can end this quickly."

"What makes you think you'll win," Kidomaru asked.

"I didn't say that, I have a feeling I have a chance against you," Neji grinned.

"You little brat!" Kidomaru spat. "I'm from Oto City. Do you have any idea what we do there?"

"Fight," Neji answered.

"Correct, it's a way of life in some parts of the city,"

"Great, then you are a match for me," Neji said.

"You're joking," Kidomaru chuckled. "You softies in Konoha don't know the art of true martial arts."

"I'm glad you think that way," Neji admitted. "Then you'll underestimate me."

"If you think so," Kidomaru said and drew his bow and arrow. He aimed his first arrow at Neji, and Neji bent his knees, ready to jump out of the arrows trail when it came for him.

Kidomaru released the arrow and Neji couldn't wait for the battle to start faster.

_ I'm sorry, for the people who don't like battles. However, what the Sasuke Retrieval arc is known for is for the battles. I tried not to make this one too long, too short, or too boring. However, tell me if I need to change my writing style a bit so you can understand the battles a bit better or if I'm doing better. _

_**Pretty **__**please review. **_


	33. Chapter 33

_I didn't re-read through this due to I feel guilt it's taken me this long to post this story. Prepare yourself._

_**I don't own Naruto.**_

"They're still following us!" Sakon exclaimed amazed. Tayuya blew a strain of hair out of her eyes as she ran.

"There isn't many of them left anyway," she pointed out. "I think Jirobo and Kidomaru can handle them."

"Well, most definitely, however," He looked back. "There are still three of them."

"I can take on two of them," Tayuya said. Sakon laughed.

"I could too, but how long do you think they'll keep running?"

"I want to end this stupid chase," Tayuya mumbled.

"If they stop again and ask for another fight," Kiba said over his shoulder. "I'll go."

Naruto looked at Kiba in consideration. "Are you sure?"

Kiba nodded. "If we're going to keep moving forward, Shikamaru's the leader, and we're on this mission for your friend."

Naruto was surprised.

"Nah," Shikamaru said. Naruto and Kiba turned to look at him. "I think, I should fight whoever's up next."

"But I-"  
"I have no experiencing in fight…" Shikamaru said. "and I know that. I think you, Kiba, should go ahead with Naruto."

"No way, you're the leader," Kiba argued.

"Exactly why you're going to listen to me," Shikamaru ordered. "Go ahead and find out how far away they are."

Kiba howled and ran forward with Akamaru who was barking along side him. They skidded to a stop, and Naruto and Shikamaru almost slammed into them. Kiba sniffed with Akamaru. Naruto sighed when the Sound Four had stopped again.

Sakon stepped forward. He looked cocky and confident. "Step forward if are willing to face me!"

Shikarmaru lumbered forward, pushing Kiba out of the way.

"Right," Naruto nodded. "Good luck." They ran around the clearing and out of Shikmaru's sight.

"Ugg, this is turning out to be such a drag," Shikamaru moaned.

Neji was on alert; he could feel everything around him. The veins in his face that connected to his eyes were popped out. His eyes were vacant and pale. He could adjust his body so precise and accurately that is made it easier to control his movements. He could also feel everything around him.

He felt air move behind him; something sharp and fast was piercing the air. He spun and got out of its path. An arrow stuck into the ground and shook from the impact. Then two more came fast from the other side. He heard a bell stuck to it. He chuckled to himself. If he listened for the bell it was on the right arrow. If he moved to the left, he would come intact with another arrow without sound.

He rolled to the side, and then gasped as he felt another arrow zip through the air faster that before. He ducked and rolled again. He realized he had almost been played into the hands of his enemy. An arrow struck right next to his foot, barely missing.

He realized they weren't coming from the same places. He knew Kidomaru was in the trees, but he didn't know which one or where. He was moving quickly, Neji could feel it. He would shoot an arrow and move to another tree. He decided he'd have to act as a target and figure out Kidomaru's pattern.

He stood still and felt for Kidomaru's chakra. Kidomaru was in a tree behind him. Neji adjusted a bit, getting him a good position to catch almost exactly where he was going to go next. Kidomaru shoot and arrow, Neji dodged and moved quickly enough to miss one that had been aimed for his arm.

Kidomaru moved to a tree behind Neji, then to a tree in front of him. He felt the arrow piercing the air behind him and saw the arrow coming at him from in the front. Neji was about to go to his right when Kidomaru jumped to a tree near his right and shot an arrow. He was trapped.

"Rotation!" He exclaimed and spun chakra around his body while he spun. He deflected the arrows and he moved to the right, feeling Kidomaru on the left. Neji decided he was going to start warring himself out if he kept dodging and deflecting.

He couldn't find any specific pattern in Kidomaru's tree choosing except that he would go behind Neji and sometimes change quickly. Basically, Kidomaru was trying to trap him. He needed a plan.

Kidomaru jumped to a tree above Neji, jumped and flipped over him as he shot an arrow. Neji rolled to the side and watched Kidomaru. Kidomaru shot an arrow above Neji's head and then at Neji, making Neji roll to the side he had just been at.

Kidomaru decided he could maybe make a chakra web with his arrows. He jumped back into a tree and observed from the tree tops.

Neji saw a thin line of chakra strung to the arrow and one of Kidomaru's arms. Kidomaru was attaching that chakra connection to the next arrow. He shot it at Neji's feet. Neji jumped to the side and grabbed the first arrow that was struck in the tree.

Kidomaru grabbed the chakra string and sent a shock through the thread. Neji dropped the arrow as he felt the vibrations coming.

"Come down here, you coward," Neji murmured. "I thought Oto ninjas were masters at fighting, not shooting arrows."

Kidomaru moved fast between three trees and shoot three arrows in a triangle around Neji.

"Rotation!"

Kidomaru growled in frustration and shot arrows at two more trees.

Neji jumped up and grabbed one of the arrows and used it to hoist himself to a tree branch. He hung from one of the branches and looked for Kidomaru. He couldn't feel him until he was on top of him.

"Hello," Kidomaru said and stepped on his hands. Neji looked up and almost let go. He flipped up and stood next to Kidomaru. He then realized he didn't have a plan. Kidomaru shot an arrow at Neji so suddenly Neji almost fell out of the tree. Kidomaru shot the arrow at him. Neji moved to the side and felt his step slip.

He reached up, reached for the chakra thread, but his fingers slipped it by an inch. He fell, but he rolled and made his fall lighter. He rolled right into one of the arrows stuck into the ground. He winced and looked and felt for Kidomaru.

Kidomaru shot all the trees circling Neji and had a thin web above Neji. Neji looked at Kidomaru and quickly felt the chakra. He chuckled.

"What are you laughing about down there?" Kidomaru called and stared down at Neji.

"Your chakra thread," Neji pointed above him. "Why make it all one chakra string?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kidomaru spat.

"That one choice is your biggest mistake," Neji said ignoring him.

Kidomaru scoffed. "Let's give you a test…" He said and moved to a different tree. However, before he had left that tree, he had shot an arrow. It came for Neji in the front. Another arrow was shot behind him and on the side. The quickest way to get them away and not waste time was to use Rotation.

He spun and deflected them. "You're foolish." Neji said.

Kidomaru murmured to himself. He shot four more arrows at him at four angles. He watched Neji more closely. He would start spinning to the right, and his last point would be to the left where he had started. The full circle was completed quickly, but…

"The gap," Kidomaru murmured. He tested his theory and shot and arrow to Neji's right and left. Neji spun to the right, as predicted, but the circle was completed to quickly for Kidomaru's shot. He decided he needed more power in his shots.

Neji gasped when he felt extra chakra filling the air. He cautiously turned around and saw Kidomaru growing two extra arms on each side of his body, like a spider.

Neji took this time to feel around the chakra web for its weakest spot and go on with his raw was going to find the weakest point in the chakra line and someone cut it in half.

Kidomaru armed himself and shot an arrow. Neji hardly missed the arrow. It was faster and more powerful. Also, more accurate.

Kidomaru saw the surprise on his face. He laughed. "This is when it really starts!"

Kidomaru appeared in front of Neji and held the arrow in his face. Neji ducked and kicked Kidomaru at the ankles. Kidomaru jumped and shot the arrow.

"Rotation!"

"It's your only resort, isn't it?" Kidomaru laughed and walked to Neji's left.

"It's one my first and weakest jutsus I use," Neji sneered.

"That's good to hear," Kidomaru shot a chakra thread at Neji. Neji almost escaped it, but he got could to the seemingly-sticky chakra web and was tied to a tree. Kidomaru aimed an arrow at him. Neji quickly felt the thread and felt it connect to Kidomaru's arm. He was using the same string as the one that was tied in the air.

Neji struggled. "Rotation!" It formed but whipped back into Neji; he was too worn out for using it too quickly.

"How many more times are you going to use that jutsu?" Kidomaru asked him in a mocking voice. "You're trapped!" He shot the arrow in Neji's shoulder.

Neji winced and felt the whole weight of the tree connected to his shoulder. He reached his other arm up and tried to pull it out, but he winced. Kidomaru laughed.

"It's over before it even started!" Kidomaru laughed.

Neji gripped the rope around his body and sent a jolt through it. Kidomaru, still holding on to the thread, didn't notice anything.

Kidomaru held an arrow to Neji's nose; about to release. Neji winced and hoped the jolt would reach Kidomaru before he release. Kidomaru's whole face changed before he let out a high pitched pained scream.

Neji closed his eyes as the Kidomaru released the arrow. The bow fell to the ground at Neji's feet and the arrow scraped his face. He felt blood trickle down his face. Kidomaru was whipping his hand up and down in pain, letting go of the string.

The jolt hadn't been strong enough. Kidomaru was standing on the thread, and Neji still had a grip on it. He grabbed it would both hands and loosened the webs grip on his waist. He felt the ground, but was still held to the tree by the arrow.

He winced as he sent the last bit of chakra through the thread. Kidomaru fell to the ground and laid on the string. He looked up at Neji.

"You brat!" He seethed. "My hand is stinging like-" He scream and shook violently up and down. It would have looked funny if Neji could have seen more of it. His blood pressure was leaving from the sudden blood loss in his shoulder.

Kidomaru released a scream that was his last cry of life. It was suddenly quiet, and Neji's ears rang. The battle had been shorter than he thought.

He started blinking quickly, trying not to lose consciousness. He tried pulling the arrow out, but he could stand the pain and the disgusting sucking sound. He got the arrows grip out of the tree, but he then fell to the ground.

The last thing he thought was the ground felt soft and that he wasn't going to die.

Naruto was panting, jogging instead of running now. He let out a tired grunt, wondering how long they had been running.

"Come on, dude, we gotta keep going," Kiba encouraged.

"I- need a- break," Naruto said.

"There's no time!" Kiba exclaimed, grabbed Naruto's arm, and ran.

Naruto ran along with him. He would have stopped long ago; his lungs were burning, his joints were sore, and his feet rebelled. However, he was going to find Sasuke and bring him home. Even if that meant Naruto never saw any of his friends again.

_Okay, considering you're reading this, I hope that means you read this chapter. I apologize that it's not well thought out and poorly written. (In my opinion, I don't want your's unless it's positive) Let's make a deal. I'll skip the battles with Kiba-vs-Sakon and Shikamaru-vs-Tayuya, but I will most definitely write Naruto, Lee, and Gaara -vs- Kimimaro. I think this story's going by too slowly and my specialty is NOT fight scenes. (Read this chapter and you'll agree.) So, I'm sorry, and my editor and I were talking about it (He thinks I'm going to lose fans) but hey, I'd rather well written chapters then bah bah bah chapters. _


	34. Chapter 34

Hello, again… I have some of my motivation back. Wanna know why? I watched the anime episodes of when Naruto and Sasuke fought each other. (It's so sad!) I really want to write those chapters so I decided "Hey, time to move on."

_**I don't own Naruto! **_

Sakon ran alone wondering how much longer he could run away from Naruto and Kiba. He stopped and decided it was time to take both of them on. He waited for them and met up with them. Kiba stood ready with Akamaru at his feet; alert and hair standing up. Naruto was panting and trying to stand as tall.

"Come on," Sakon urged. "I can take on both of you!"

"You go ahead, Naruto," Kiba said. "I'll take on this goon."

"Look, Kiba, you're faster, and you've more energy," Naruto insisted without realizing what he was saying.

"No way, I've got him," Kiba said fiercely. "We're doing this for Sasuke. We're also doing this for you! If you die, what's the point?"

Naruto stared at Kiba. Kiba was genuinely serious, and his eyes were so fierce he hardly dared to say no. Naruto swallowed hard, and he took a step forward.

"Go!" Kiba cried. Naruto nodded and ran ahead.

Naruto ran forward for as long as he could. He would have stopped if he hadn't seen the trees thinning. His drawing breathes were like blazing his lungs in fire. His legs wobbled in protest as he stepped forward.

'He might be there,' Naruto said to himself. 'Sasuke might be just a couple steps in front of me.'

When Naruto walked out of the trees and onto a wide vast field, bordered in trees, he looked around hopefully. His legs gave out and he fell to the ground.

'That's it,' he thought helplessly. The field looked eternal to him, giving his stomach a dropping feeling. The sun blinded his eyes when he looked up.

'Was this all for nothing?' he asked himself. 'Are they all giving up their lives for me to give-up?' He got up and looked forward. His heart leapt when he looked harder. Did he see movement not too far from him? He raced forward with new energy.

As he got closer he saw more detail. It was a tall figure carrying a large long package. The closer he got the more skeleton-like and sickly the figure looked. The figure was walking slowly.

"Hey!" Naruto called after the figure. The figure turned his head. As Naruto saw his face the man disappeared. Naruto stopped in a confused gaze. The man had disappeared in a blur; like he had moved at a quick rate.

He was jolted forward by a kick from behind. He fell to the ground and coughed up blood. He panted and looked up at the direction the kick had come from. The man that had disappeared was looking down at him with one hand holding the package on his back. He looked down at Naruto with cold stoic eyes.

Naruto rolled to his feet. "What was that for?" He asked insulted. He got tense, ready, and alert.

The man just stared as he set down the package gently. He coughed quietly as he stood back up. Naruto watched cautious.

"Who are you?" The man asked with a sharp tone.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto answered. "Who are you?"

"Where are you headed?" The man asked again, ignoring Naruto's question.

"Like it matters! I'm looking for my friend!" He answered getting annoyed. "What's with the pack? It looks like your carrying a corpse." He looked at the package. It was wrapped in purplish gauze in the shape of a body. He swallowed hard, hoping he was wrong.

"It's not a corpse," the man said. Naruto felt a little relieved. His concern returned after he had looked at the man a good bit. He was wearing similar clothes as the Sound Four. It was a white baggy jacket that looked a little dirty. His pants were tattered, and his hair was white and thinning.

"You are close, however," the man said with a something hidden in his voice.

Naruto became curious. "Yeah, what is it? I mean it looks really close to a body."

The man had a small ironic smile on his face. Naruto gasped when the man appeared in front of him and kicked him back again. Naruto skid across the ground and lied there in surprise. Why was the man attacking him?

Naruto got up and watched the man. The man stared back; his arms hanging a little limp. Naruto heard a sickening sound as the man's skin rippled on his arm. The man's palm was turned up as a sharp bone skid down into his hand. The man held it like a sword.

The bone was long and slender. Its edge was sharpened; similar to a sword. Its edge was rigid and the surface with smooth and shiny. Naruto felt the feeling of a cold sweat on his arm's hair. Had he seen correctly? Had the man just taken a bone out of his body? Was he holding it in his hand at that very moment?

The man assaulted forward with the bone wielded like a blade. Naruto didn't know what to do. He was frozen. He didn't know how to evade the man's attacks when he wielded a sword. He ran to the side and the man just got to him faster. He cut Naruto in the arm.

Naruto grasped his stinging arm. The man stepped back, but he was quick to come for a second assault. Naruto guarded with his other arm and got rewarded with a huge gash in his other arm. He seethed and didn't dare look at his arm.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked in a range that could only be reached with fear. The man drew back the sword ready to strike. Naruto's eyes grew wide as he bent backwards. He watched the bone soar past his nose. He watched it like it was played in slow-motion; imagining that was where his throat was originally.

The man came back for a second swing at Naruto's side. Naruto wasn't ready and fell to the ground when the bone sword struck. He grabbed his side and squinted up at the man. Naruto glanced at the package. It wasn't too far away.

The man drew up the bone sword about to strike. Naruto closed his eyes tightly. He wanted to roll out of his path but couldn't force his unbearable pain in his side to stop. He felt warm blood trickling down past his shirt on his back. His heart was pumping; all he could hear was the thumping.

He heard a grunt and a familiar slither of something. His memory zoomed back to the day when he stood behind the back of his school; about to be killed by Gaara.

"G-Gaara?" Naruto asked aloud, not realizing. He opened his eyes. He saw the man on the ground rubbing his eyes and the bone sword at his side. He was covered in sand. Naruto turned to see someone standing at his side.

"It looks like I arrive a little late," Gaara said. Naruto was surprised to look up and see it was Gaara. He was crossing his arms and staring coldly at the man. However, Naruto noticed something different in his voice. Naruto could only place it as… feeling… or maybe value.

Gaara bent down next to Naruto and stared into his eyes. "Do you need help, Naruto?" He asked as he held out a hand. Naruto numbly took his hand and dropped it instantly as pain from his open wounds shocked his limbs and raced up his arm. Gaara grabbed Naruto's forearm and pulled him up as he watched the man get up.

The man seethed as he rubbed his eyes. "What kind of sand is that?" He growled.

Gaara steadied Naruto as he stood up. Naruto felt a flash slowly blinding him, and his legs started losing its support.

"Gaara, why are you here?" He asked, starting to fall over. Gaara caught him and bounced him back up.

"I heard from some of the kids around town say that you had left to look for Sasuke," Gaara explained. "I came to help you out. I felt as though I needed to return a favor."

"Huh?" Naruto let out. His head started to sway, but his vision started returning. Naruto tried to rub the fading, burning stars in his eyes as he heard sand slither past him. Gaara had sent another hard clump of sand after the man. Naruto heard the sound of the sand hitting the ground.

"Darn it," Gaara mumbled and sent more sand ahead. "Kankuro and Temari are helping out your other friends." Gaara informed.

Naruto stopped rubbing and started feeling support come back to his legs.

"I don't know why this guys attacking me," Naruto said. "When I mentioned the pack on the ground, he pulled a bone out of his hand and started hurting me!"

Gaara stepped forward and threw more sand effortlessly. The man was striking the sand with his bone sword and coming closer as he did.

"Well, you don't have to search for Sasuke anymore," Gaara said. His face was trained on the man, and his eyes were focused on the man's sword.

"What the heck do you mean?" Naruto asked.

Between grunts Gaara replied "He's nearby."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel his chakra," he answered and swept his arm forward like he threw a bowling ball. Instead sand swept with him and shot the man in the gut. He continued with two more swipes and stepped back to Naruto.

"How far?" Naruto asked suddenly excited. He felt his wound's pain getting fainter.

"He's right on top of us," Gaara answered, shooting sand out of what seemed like his sleeve. "Its like he's standing right in front of us."

Naruto looked around with confusion squinting on his face. He saw the man with the bone sword, Gaara, and him. All there was besides those were the trees and the package on the ground.

"Could he be in the forest?" Naruto asked.

Gaara let out a frustrated grunt. "I said like he's right on top of us. His chakra seems restricted however. His chakra's too strong not to track though."

Naruto's eyes fell on the package. He felt a rising feeling in his stomach that seemed to bubble up into his head. He smiled in spite of himself.

"Gaara," Naruto said, his voice cracking with excitement. "Keep that guy busy! I've got an idea."

Gaara answered with a swipe of his foot which kicked up a mount of sand that cascaded on the man. Naruto ran around the side grabbing his bleeding side. The pain was numb now; he was almost positive he had found Sasuke.

He cried when he felt a small sharp slice cut open his skin. It was almost a scratch, but he was on his top senses. The man's sword had almost cut into his other side. However he had been tripped by sand and had fallen. Naruto ran to the package and almost fell flat on his face when he tried to bend down next to it.

He tried prying his fingers in between the tightly wrapped gauze. His fingers got sore and scratched up after a couple pries. Nothing worked.

"Yah!" A voice cried from behind Naruto. Naruto turned to see the man flying sideways. He had been inches from Naruto. A boy stood behind Naruto in a straight position with his hand out. The boy's eyes were a little droopier than when they had last met, and his eyes looked a little hazed.

"I am here now!" He announced.

"Rock Lee?" Naruto croaked. "How did you…?"

"You can not go through Konoha City without hearing your name, Naruto," Lee said with a confident tone. "When your name is mentioned so is your friend's, Sasuke."

"But-"

"I had to repay you for introducing me to Sakura," Lee said. "That beautiful girl…"

"You…" Naruto couldn't talk he was so surprised. "Thanks."

Lee nodded and ran forward towards the man at full speed. "Here I come!"

Naruto returned to prying open the package. It was no use. He hung over the package and felt around. He had felt nothing that felt loose. His shaking hands hovered over the wrapped up package helplessly. He didn't know what to do.

He was suddenly sent flying backwards away from the package. He screamed all the way. The force was more than a push. It had sent him flying in the air for a couple seconds; like pure anger. He tumbled to a stop and lied hurt on the ground.

Naruto picked up his head and saw the package had cracked open.

Lee had the man covered as Gaara barraged him with sand bullets. Naruto stared in a daze. Where the package had been Sasuke stood. He had his back to Naruto, but Naruto could still feel something emitting off him.

It was something different that Naruto had never felt before. Even from a distance, Naruto could feel a power in the air that almost stiffened it. He got up weakly and stood wobbly.

Sasuke turned his head to the side. Naruto could only see his profile. His stare was cold and angry. Naruto stared at Sasuke's face more closely. He saw a pattern of black dots on his face. When he looked at him even closer, one leg and arm had the same pattern.

"Sa- Sasuke," Naruto stammered and walked forward. Sasuke turned and faced Naruto head on. Naruto stopped and they both met gazes. Naruto swallowed. Something was different about him, like the day he had attacked him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried and ran towards him. As he was at the halfway point of his path Sasuke disappeared.

_Yes, I would like some reviews please. I'm still very happy with Ennalight's reviews. She's stuck with me till this point! Please stick with me till the very end! (Lee tone) Please review. _


	35. Chapter 35

This chapter has been written for a while, but I haven't gotten around to posting it. Then again, not sure who's reading it anymore since I said I was taking a break. Oh well, someone will come around! _

_**I don't own Naruto! **_

Naruto stopped when Sasuke had disappeared, and he felt frozen. Had he imagined Sasuke there?

'No… he had been there,' Naruto thought.' I could feel him.'

The air erupted with lung rattling coughing. Naruto turned to see the man on the ground at the mercy of Lee and Gaara. Naruto ran over to inspect what had happened. Lee was slouched a little bit more than their last talk, and Gaara had the man pinned to the ground with sand slithering around his waist.

The man kept coughing. His skin was slightly sunken in, but if Naruto hadn't seen him before he wouldn't have noticed. His skin glistened with sweat and he shook as he coughed. They all stared at him tensely.

"You had Sasuke," Naruto finally said. "How?"

The man's coughing was coming in pauses as he tried to talk. "The mission." He finally croaked. Lee looked at Naruto and Gaara in confusion and back at the man. The man's head turned on its side, and his breaths were shaky.

"Well, mission isn't really… a good word for it," He said, his eyes on the three.

"Well, you had better come up with one fast!" Naruto exclaimed getting angry quickly. He was positive he could feel Sasuke getting farther and farther away. "I need to bring him home!"

The man's eyes lightened. The side of his mouth rose a little in a pathetic smile. He released it quickly and stared ahead. "I don't know how successful you'll be with that one."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked in a dangerous tone. Gaara gave Naruto a sideways glance.

"What I heard… he left on his own accord," the man answered in a thinning voice.

"And you want to tell me that's why you were carrying him? All wrapped up like that?" He shouted. "How stupid do you think I am?"

The man shook his head. "You can go find him. He can tell you himself."

Naruto reached down and grabbed the man's collar. He pulled the man's face next to his with speed he didn't even knew he had. He felt Gaara's hand on his back.

"Naruto, there's no reason to get angry at him," Gaara advised.

Naruto stared into the man's eyes. The man stared back strong, but the strength was flickering. Naruto was shaking. He stood up and let the man's head plop on the ground heavily. He stepped back, feeling his lungs fill up with furious breaths.

He turned around and started walking off.

"Where are you going?" Lee called after him.

"I'm going after Sasuke," Naruto said. His arms swung past his sides as he walked. His feet stomped the ground at the same rhythm of his fast beating heart.

"But you do not even know where he is," Lee pointed out.

"Would you shut up!" Naruto shouted at him. Gaara was watching by the man's side.

"Guys," He called. Naruto turned to him in a fury. "I think he's dying."

"Who?" They asked together, their voices being separated by their tone.

Gaara pointed at the man on the ground. The man's hands were twitching slightly. Lee went back over to the man and glanced behind him to see Naruto wasn't following him. Lee's look made Naruto's anger soften a bit. He showed complete concern. Naruto walked next to the two weakly.

When Naruto arrived at their side, the man was completely still. Naruto swallowed hard and realized he had never seen anyone die before.

"Y'all didn't do that… did you?" Naruto asked, guilt beginning to add to his mixture of emotions.

Gaara shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

Lee blinked hard as his guard started leaving the way he stood.

"He seemed in bad health before we even arrived," Gaara said as the sand around the man's waist swirled slower and slower. Naruto started feeling feverish as he stood still looking at the man.

"Go," Gaara said suddenly. "We'll deal with his body. You go after Sasuke."

Naruto stepped back and nodded. "Thanks, you guys."

"We wish you good luck," Lee responded as he bent down next to the man's body.

Naruto turned and walked towards the tree line. He looked over his shoulder as Lee and Gaara discussed over the man's body.

The sun had been poking out of the clouds when Naruto went under the trees. It seemed darker when he entered the woods once again. His heart pounded so loud he was sure his ear drums were bouncing as his heart pumped. Besides the beating, he heard the crunch of leaves under his own footsteps. He was sure several times he heard another rhythm of crunches nearby. However, when he would stop, all he heard was the pounding.

The trees seemed to go on forever. He didn't really keep track of time, but if he could have measured it would have been eternity. It could have been night or day. He didn't really know the answer to that either.

His senses snapped back into play when he saw a cliff. When his pace became a jog, he started hearing the gushing of moving water. He started running when everything started becoming vivid. His head that had felt like it had been sleeping in time was now awake in reality.

He exclaimed when he had to stop abruptly. He caught his balance on his toes, his arms were open, spinning and looking for a place where he felt stable again, and his eyes jumped from the ground and back into his head; or so it felt.

When he stepped back he realized the stone he was standing on was smoothed. He shakily looked down as he gulped. Below was a drop off from a waterfall. His face felt moist from the vapor escaping from the waterfall straight ahead.

He looked past the waterfall to see another side to it. The waterfall was in between two wedges of rock. His eyes widened and his body felt lighter when he saw someone on the other side.

"Sasuke?" His voice escaped from him. Sasuke was standing on the other side, his back to Naruto. How had he gotten over there, Naruto wondered. He looked down at his own feet and wiggled them for an idea.

His head shot up as if the idea had struck him. He focused on sending chakra to his feet. He felt a clicking sensation that was familiar as he stepped onto the waterfall. He looked forward and didn't dare look down as he passed the gushing water. When he approached Sasuke's side he felt a total fury suddenly take fire.

Sasuke's head turned and he looked over his shoulder at Naruto as he stepped onto the stone. His face looked normal. No strange dot patterned tattoo he had seen before. Naruto's fury was washed away with relief. However, that relief left when Sasuke faced him head on.

Naruto felt his stare harden when he saw the dotted pattern on the other half of Sasuke's face. The dots had tails of them, like flames. The pattern was also on the legs and arms as it was on his face. Sasuke's stare was dark and angry. Naruto stepped forward, and they stared at each other.

Naruto's fist lifted up and it struck Sasuke in his face without realization at first. Sasuke hardly recoiled as Naruto returned a second strike. The air emitting from Sasuke seemed mocking and cruel. Naruto let out a barrage of punches on Sasuke. At first, his fists had a mind of its own, but soon Naruto had given into its movements.

"You! Stupid! Idiot!" He shouted. His fists felt heavy as they hovered by his sides. He panted out his anger. Sasuke lifted up his head and their eyes met again. The look Sasuke returned made Naruto hit him again.

"Why the heck did you leave!" He cried. "I'm-" He stopped when he heard Sasuke chuckle. The nastiness of the chuckle made Naruto freeze. He couldn't lash out anymore strikes when surprise stopped him dead.

"I'm bringing you home, Sasuke!" Naruto said strongly, the numbness melting away.

"I'm not going back," Sasuke said, staring up at Naruto. Naruto's fury blasted and he sent Sasuke flying back as he kicked him. He raced after him. Sasuke was knocked into stone, and he slid down to the ground.

"What's gotten into you?" Naruto shouted, his fury wavering for a second. "Have you forgotten about Sakura? And Kakashi?"

Sasuke looked up fiercely, the mocking air gone. "Those two? All they were doing were holding me back from my true power."

Naruto stared. In a furious flash he grasped Sasuke's shoulders, and he shook him. He tried shaking the nonsense out of his friend. He even pounded his head against the rock several times. Sasuke let himself get shaken around; he was as limp as a rag doll sometimes.

When Naruto stopped, out of breath and muscle Sasuke said, "You really are a fool."

"Huh?" He looked up in a confused and angry daze.

"It's not just them," Sasuke said quietly. The calmness in Sasuke's voice was unnerving to Naruto. "It's you too. You're holding me back." The next thing Naruto knew, Sasuke had slipped a kick under Naruto's balance. As he fell to the ground Sasuke punched him up into the air. As Naruto felt the air whistle past his ears, the pain settled in in a rush. Sasuke met him in the air and kicked him over the side of the stone wedge they had been on.

Naruto let himself fall. The numbness from the pain stiffened him. He felt like a limp body just falling to the water as he fell along with the waterfall. Sasuke's voice came in as the wind swirled around in his ears, almost deafening Naruto. However, he could still make out Sasuke's cold voice.

"You guys are the reason my goal isn't getting reached sooner!" He shouted above the rushing wind. As Naruto heard him say this he had been jabbing Naruto with kicks in the gut. The last kick sent him flying even faster to the ground.

Suddenly, water rushed into his ears and nose; stinging his eyes and sending piercing bubbles rise up to the surface. The sudden silence was deafening. He left himself to sink, watching the surface become farther and farther away, and the water get darker and colder.

Sasuke sat on the surface of the water with his chakra, sending constant ripples of the water at his feet. He grinned at his work. Hopefully, he thought, the pounding he had just given him might have been enough to make Naruto not fight back.

When Naruto surfaced, his spirits had dampened. He let himself float as he tilted his head to look at Sasuke. Sasuke stood near the waterfall, staring back.

'Sasuke,' he thought sadly. 'Is that all that matters to you? You're goal?' His throat tickled for a moment, and then it made his erupt in coughs and sputtering water. As he sat up and stood on the water, with the help of his chakra, he never left the gaze with Sasuke.

"Naruto," Sasuke said. "Over the past year, you have become my closest friend." Naruto felt shock tingle around him when Sasuke said that. "That's exactly why I'm going to need to kill you." With his shock drenched in dread, it pulled him down with the drying water on his back.

"You know what else?" Sasuke said with a wicked smile spreading across his face. "Sakura and Kakashi aren't here to stop us now." Naruto swallowed hard. "We're now going to find out who's stronger, and I can almost taste the victory."

"I'll beat you to a pulp if that's what it takes to bring you home!" Naruto shouted. "Do you hear me!"

"So, your inspection is done," Tsunade announced standing in the middle of room 204. Kakashi and Kurenai were standing off to the side of the room. "Everything's in order, so you guys are doing a great job."

"Thank you," they said together. Kakashi secretly wondered why he had to be at the inspection, though he didn't mind since he had borrowed Kurenai's classroom all year.

"Alright, you guys are free to go," Tsunade said.

"Okay," Kurenai took her purse she had set on the table, said good-bye to both of them, and left. Tsunade started heading out, but Kakashi asked her to stay.

"I've heard Naruto and other students from this school left town the other day," Kakashi said. Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, I'm aware," she replied. "I sent them."

"May I know exactly why?" He asked.

Tsunade stared at Kakashi in contemplation.

"Naruto was my student," he reminded her. "I was only curious."

"I agreed to set up a unit of students," she explained. "They're helping to go after Sasuke."

Kakashi stared back at Tsunade, and a silence stiffened the room for a couple seconds.

"Okay, thank you for the information, Tsunade," He said smiling, as he left.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto said as a copy of himself appeared at his side. Sasuke was running towards Naruto with Chidori erupting in Sasuke's hand. The air was filled with the shrill cheeping of a thousand birds. Naruto could feel the intense chakra getting closer as he and the Shadow Clone rotated chakra into his own hand.

His hands curled around the Rasengan, containing it like a cage. He ran towards Sasuke holding the Rasengan behind him. Sasuke held his wrist and held the Chidori in front of himself. Naruto braced himself for the collision. He threw his arm out as they approached each other and collided their jutsus.

_ I think my writing skills are slipping away at the moment because my will to read has left me! ( ;_; ) So, anyway, please review. _


	36. Chapter 36

Sakura was eating at Ichiraku ramen, looking out the window as she ate the ramen Naruto had claimed was the best thing ever invented. She sighed when she pushed it away, not hungry. She gripped her stomach in a hug when it growled.

She hadn't eaten since Naruto had left. She felt like her throat was dried and closed up, and she couldn't digest anything. She was alone in the room; the man that had served her was busy in the kitchen. She looked out at the window, a storm looming in the sky.

She got up and left. When she opened the door and went outside, she felt little random droplets of rain fall on her. She held her hand out, see if she could catch one. She walked in the direction of her home, passing up people along the way. This part of town was constantly busy.

She felt disconnected from everyone who walked by. For the first time ever, she felt completely alone. Is this what Sasuke felt after his whole family was slaughtered? Besides loneliness, she felt betrayal. She put her hands in her pockets and kept walking with her head down; not because she was upset, but because she had no reason to look up.

Realization hit her when she had seen Naruto like that in the beginning of the year. She had considered him an outcast and a little bit of a weirdo. Was she the weirdo now?

She looked up when she heard someone say Kakashi. That was the name of the man that found her on the side of road; Naruto and Sasuke's teacher. She looked around and sure enough, she saw Kakashi walking in the opposite direction with a little dog at his feet.

"Hello," She said went over to them. Kakashi looked over at Sakura as she glanced at the dog. She bent next to it and pet it. "I didn't know you owned a dog." Her voice was taken away by the adorableness of the dog. Its body was bulky; its leg looked like little stubs. His face was shoved in and it was dressed in a little vest. The dog looked up at Kakashi and seemed to constantly be panting.

"Yeah, I own others too," He said.

"It must be trained; it's not even on a leash," she said rubbing the back of its ears. "What's its name?"

"Pakkun," he answered.

"Kakashi, I thought you said you were in a hurry," It said. Sakura jumped and scooted backwards.

"Yeah, we are, but it doesn't hurt to be polite," Kakashi said.

"It talks," Sakura said astounded. She looked up at Kakashi.

"I'm a ninja dog," Pakkun said. Sakura stared at it with big eyes. She got up.

"That's amazing; do all ninja dogs talk?" she asked. She was a bit happy to have run into them. It took her mind off Naruto and Sasuke and the rest of the kids that left.

"Sure they do," Pakkun said, starting to walk forward. "Sorry, but we're pressed for time, missy."

"Oh, you guys late for an appointment?" Sakura said half joking.

"No," Kakashi said. "We're leaving the city for a little while."

Sakura's stomach fell like a stone. Them too? "Where are y'all going?"

"Not too far,"

"Is it after Naruto and Sasuke?" She asked after some thought and a little nervous squirm. Pakkun was already up the block, and he was looking back at them, waiting for Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed. "I'll try to bring both of them home safely." He hesitated. "You know how serious those two were the last time they saw each though."

She looked away at the street, a lump lodged in her throat. "I know." She had been thinking about it, but thought maybe it had been her over thinking it as usual. Apparently, she had been thinking like Kakashi. Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, patted it, and walked ahead.

"When you get back, will you please tell me?" she called after him. Kakashi stopped, looked over his shoulder, and nodded. She watched him walk to the block next to Pakkun, and disappear behind a building. She had been wrong before… now she felt alone.

Naruto and Sasuke's jutsu held contact for longer than Naruto thought possible. The energy was so intense; it seemed to stiffen the air around the two. Naruto powered his Rasengan with the will to bring Sasuke back, to bring things back to the way they were; to not lose his best friend. Sasuke powered his Chidori with the confidence to carry out his goal until it was reached, to set things right, and with his hatred.

Something broke the contact and they were sent flying backwards. Naruto went sailing in the air and tumbling across the water without the help of his worn out chakra to keep him skidding across the surface of the water. Sasuke was rammed into the stone that was hidden by the waterfall. Naruto's whole body was thrown into a wall of rough rock. He slid down onto the ground.

The water was so shallow here; the water only reached his waist sitting down. He felt the decline of the rock as the river got deeper. The water tugged mercilessly at his clothes. He got up and looked for Sasuke. Sasuke surfaced near the waterfall.

Naruto walked on the water with his chakra, hiding his exhaustion. The Rasengan was taxing on his chakra. He had tried to prepare himself mentally for this battle, but had realized he hadn't been preparing his chakra.

Naruto felt a power supporting him however. It started in his stomach and rooted all around his body. He wasn't finished.

Sasuke stood by the waterfall, and even from far away Naruto could feel his anger. Naruto hoped Sasuke's anger blinded him from feeling Naruto's anger. Naruto recoiled when Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of him in a blur.

Sasuke's fist was lifted, ready to strike Naruto, but Naruto kicked Sasuke over his head. Sasuke landed with a thud behind Naruto. His balance slipped under him when Sasuke kicked Naruto's ankles. He grabbed Naruto's ankles, jumped in the air, spun in dizzying circles, and slammed him into the water. The water slapped his skin and sent him into flips under the water.

When the spinning settled, he surfaced cautiously. He was lifted out of the water, clenched by his throat and held high about Sasuke's head. Sasuke's grip clogged air from getting into his lungs, making them starting to burn slowly. Naruto squirmed, but exhaustion limited his strength.

Naruto's vision became hazy and blurry. The storm clouds above were gray blobs and the mountains bordered them. He tried to swallow, but his saliva pooled around his throat. He heard the familiar chirping of Sasuke's Chidori explode beneath him. It was deafening, and Naruto wasn't fighting back anymore.

He felt pain bloom from his shoulder. Something cold dripped down his back and seeped him of his energy. The shock from the electric Chidori seemed to run through Naruto's veins. Sasuke had shoved the Chidori through his shoulder.

It was over... Sasuke was too strong for him…

The hazy gray above started to fade into darkness until all he saw with complete darkness. He felt himself standing in water. Soon a room faded into his vision. It was lit by an orange tinted light. No, the orange was flames along the walls. They casted long shadows on a giant creature that lay behind the bars of a titanic cage. His face took up the whole opening.

The overwhelming image made Naruto's heart race. He was standing before the Nine-tails demon. He stumbled back a couple steps. The water seemed to tingle with power around his ankles. The Nine-tails stared down with greedy eyes. Naruto began to shiver.

_"How pathetic," _it growled. Its voice seemed to ripple the water. Naruto hated the feeling of helplessness. However, he couldn't help himself; he seemed to cave into himself. _"We can't have you dying… that wouldn't be good for me."_

Dying… was that happening to Naruto? Was he dying?

He looked down after the shock hit him like a wall. His breathing became shaky and short. He felt like running away from the room, but his knees became weak and rubbery. They were too shaky to function. His brain was frozen.

He couldn't move as red chakra seeped through the cage in the water towards Naruto. He watched it reach his feet and climb up his legs. It surrounded him, and in a rush, anger and frustration flooded his head. His hands curled into his palms as his fingernails became claws. The chakra climbed up his body and made a cloak in the shape of a fox.

In the valley, Sasuke watched Naruto's chakra bubble slowly to the surface. He felt the power and fury emit from the chakra. Naruto's body was still however and limp. Sasuke didn't know what was going on.

In a jolt Naruto's head popped up and stared down at Sasuke. Sasuke dropped him, and he was sent flying backwards by a force that suddenly became familiar to Sasuke. His memory flew back to when Naruto had him pinned to a tree by the harbor.

When Sasuke found his feet on the rigid water, he watched Naruto's chakra blossom. It erupted around his body in a swirling fury. Naruto's wails and cries filled the valley and bounced off Sasuke's ears. He watched with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and a little bit of fear. Sasuke now realized he had something up against him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto roared. His voice was rough, harsh, and furious. "If you won't come home, then I'll break all the bones in your body, and drag you home!"

Sasuke watched speechless. A few moments ago he was positive he had killed him. He couldn't believe it. The skin where Naruto's wound had been formed back, and the only trace of Sasuke's assault was the twisted gap in his shirt. Sasuke's head slowly moved into a shake.

"This is incredible," he murmured, unable to help himself. He could practically feel the power in the air. Was this really Naruto? A cry of anger and pain echoed and bellowed from Naruto. Sasuke swallowed hard and cried over the rush of the raged water, "What the heck are you?"

"I'm your friend!" Naruto cried.

Kakashi ran along side Pakkun, who was following the scent of Naruto and the others. Pakkun took a whiff, and skidded to a stop.

"There's one," Pakkun said after a few sniffs. "It smells like potato chips."

"We'll get the others later," Kakashi said.

"No, wait," Pakkun sniffed. "I think I also smell blood."

Kakashi looked around, and he reached into his pocket. "How far away do you think it is, Pakkun?"

"Not too far," he answered. Kakashi took out a tiny scroll and rolled it out on the ground. Pakkun heard a crunch, and Kakashi put his hand spread out of the paper, holding up a hand sign. In a poof of smoke, a pack of dogs appeared.

"Pakkun, give them the trail, and then catch up with me," Kakashi ordered. Pakkun nodded, understanding, and walked up to the noisy group. Kakashi left in a blur as the dogs sniffed the air for the Sasuke Retrieval team.


End file.
